Dead in the Eyes of the World
by lilvamp23
Summary: Euphemia li Britannia was killed by Zero after she ordered the extermination of the Japanese people. At least she was in the eyes of the world and in the hearts of those that loved her. She even considered herself dead eventually and she became someone else. Someone that would make the world a kinder place. (M for the smut that will no doubt surface eventually)
1. The End of Euphemia

**Author note -** _I always felt bad that Euphie was killed, so I'm going to pretend she wasn't. I'm honestly not sure where this is going to end up or how it will turn out, but the idea is nagging me and I can't help myself. I'm just going to let the story guide me with the vague little idea bubbles floating around in my cluttered brain. Some of the character's actual stories will be twisted for the plot. I apologize if I upset anyone with my little fine tuning of characters.  
_

 _I don't own Code Geass, but it is amazing and sad and my heart can't take it sometimes._

* * *

Euphemia li Britannia blinked. It was hard though. Her eyelids felt like they each weighed a million pounds. It wasn't only her eyelids that felt heavy. She could barely feel her body. She tried to wiggle her big toe like she'd seen in the movies, but couldn't tell if it worked. She couldn't hear anything either besides the sound of her shallow breathing. What was this thing on her mouth? She turned her head slowly to look around. Her soft lavender eyes taking in her surroundings. At least that part of her body seemed to be cooperating.

Why was Suzaku crying? She blinked at him and opened her mouth, but all that came out was a breathy whisper. It was enough though. He looked at her. He looked so sad. Why? She blinked as the thing around her mouth moved and a yellow tinted glass moved. Where did that come from? They stared at each other for a moment. Euphie wanted to talk, but her throat felt raw.

"Euphie I have to know. Why did you issue that order at the stadium?" Suzaku asked quietly. His voice cracked at the end. His green bore into her. Order?

"Order? What are you talking about?...Nevermind that." She took a couple of deep breaths or tried to and looked back at him. "Suzaku you're Japanese aren't you?"

Wait. Why? Where is this feeling coming from? Why does she feel the need to kill Suzaku? She felt her chest clench painfully. No. She would never kill Suzaku! She loves him. He is her heart, but he was Japanese. The Japanese must die. All of them….but Suzaku… Suzaku… she won't kill him. No. NO. NO! What was wrong with her? Why did it hurt? Her chest was burning. It was on fire. Stars exploded in her vision. Suzaku was calling to her. She needed to stay with Suzaku! She turned to look at him and saw the tears in his eyes again. She smiled fondly at him. He didn't need to cry. She couldn't hear him anymore and her vision blurred then turned black.

XXXX

Euphie scrunched her face and then blinked a couple of times. She slowly took in her surroundings. She was laying on a bed with a breathing apparatus. A blanket was pulled up over her shoulders to keep them warm. Where was she? She couldn't remember anything. The last thing she remembers was talking to Lelouch at the assembly. The rest was blank.

She tried to sit up, but pain raged through her chest. She laid back down quickly and took deep breaths. Tears collected at the corners of her eyes. After the pain subsided to a dull ache, she tentatively raised her hand to inspect the area. There was a bandage covering it. When did she get hurt? She couldn't remember.

"Ummm…hello?" Euphie tried calling out. Her voice too scratchy too high pitched. Her eyes scrunched in confusion. She tried again. "Is anyone here?"

The door slid open revealing a man with black hair and a white doctor's robe. "I see you're finally awake. Hello miss. I'm doctor Raynott. How are you feeling?"

She watched as he pulled a chair up next to her bed and removed the breathing machine. "I'm confused. Where am I?"

"You're at a hospital recovering."

"Recovering from what? What happened to me?"

"You don't remember?"

"No. I was talking to Zero before the Special Administrative Zone assembly and then I don't remember anything." Euphie watched as the doctor wrote something down on his clip board.

"Interesting. So you don't remember going before the assembly and making a speech?"

Euphie's delicate pink brows furrowed again. "No…umm…but did it go ok? Are the Japanese happy now with the Zone?"

The doctor wrote down some more notes. "We'll talk later about it. I'm going to check your vitals ok?"

Euphie nodded and complied with the doctor as he poked and prodded her. "Umm… has anyone come by to see me? Like my sister…or…anyone?"

The doctor smiled at her kindly and patted her head. "You're sister is really busy right now, but I'll make sure to let her know you woke up."

The doctor was on the way out and Euphie tried to sit up, but cried out in pain at the quick movement. He came back and helped her ease down again. "Please before you go… did a boy come by at all?"

The doctor looked at her with what she only assumed was a huge dose of sympathy. "Try to get some rest miss."

"My name is Euphemia, but you can call me Euphie you know" she smiled up at the kind doctor as he made a hmm noise and then he left the room. Euphie blinked when she heard a lock slide into place. Did he just lock the door? Why?

XXXX

This continued on for the next weeks. The doctor or sometimes a nurse would come and check on her. They would ask her questions that she couldn't answer. They always referred to her as miss and never Euphie even though she requested that they do so. They would come and they would leave. The door always locking behind them. Yes it was locked. When she was strong enough to move around on her own, she had checked.

They were the only two people she ever saw. Her sister never came by. Suzaku never came by. It hurt her feelings. She didn't understand. She would ask the doctor and his nurse, but they would never give her a direct answer. She would ask about the SAZ, but they wouldn't answer those questions either.

They cut her long flowing pink hair to about shoulder length, gave her new clothes and really good meals. They gave her anything she wanted to keep herself occupied. Books, puzzles, stuff to doodle with. This wasn't enough though. She was healthy now. Why wouldn't they let her leave? She was frustrated and utterly confused.

Then it happened one day. The nurse was helping her and she got an urgent page. The nurse ran out of the room, but forgot to lock it. Euphie grinned slyly and crept from the room. Freedom! She felt giddy with excitement. She took her time exploring to make sure not to get caught. She paused when she looked out of a window. There was nothing around them except trees and trees for the eye to see. Mountains in the distance. No other buildings. Nothing. Her heart stuttered at that. Where was she?

She was creeping back to her room in confusion when she passed an open door. "I don't understand why she can't remember anything about the SAZ assembly or anything after it. I haven't seen a case like this. At first I thought it was split personalities, but none of her behavior's line up with it."

"I also don't understand it. The young lady seems like a caring and loving individual. Never once has she exhibited the violent nature she did at the stadium when she killed all of those people."

Euphie blinked in confusion. They weren't talking about her were they? They couldn't be. She would never kill people…what? Maybe they confused her with someone else. Her heart hammered in her chest as she listened to them list off different theories for her extreme personality shift. She didn't even recognize all of the medical terms. Schizophrenia? What was that?

As she listened and her stomach threatened to expel the delectable lunch she had, she came to a startling conclusion. She wasn't just in a hospital. She was in a mental institution...for unstable and crazy people. Her lungs started going into overdrive as she tried to process the new information. Is that why Cornelia and Suzaku hadn't come to see her? Did they think she was crazy?

She hid in a nearby room as she heard them leave. After a minute or so, she peeked her head out of the door to make sure they had left. She then crept into the little office room they had been using. The computer screen was still active and she saw herself standing at a podium. Her hand shook violently as she reached over to the mouse, directed it to the little play icon and clicked. She watched in unbelievable terror as the little image of her on the screen started speaking and ordered that all Japanese be exterminated. She flinched in the chair she was sitting at when her thin delicate finger pulled the first trigger of the gun shooting into the audience. Her heart increased to inhuman speeds as blood and chaos filled the screen. Her vision had started getting black splotches in it as her lungs refused to bring in any oxygen to her desperate body. She was just conscious enough to watch Zero shoot her and then she was falling the ceiling appearing out of nowhere before her eyes.

XXXX

The next time she woke up, she was lying in a bed. Not her bed. She sat up slowly and blinked a couple of times. The memories from what she had seen came slamming back at her in an instant and she fell back against the bed as the wind was knocked out of her. She held her head pulling at her hair as she screamed. No! She didn't do that! She would never do that! She didn't notice the door sliding open, but she did notice the needle being shoved into her arm.

She woke up a little bit later. She felt numb. Her hands felt heavy. She tried moving a finger and watched with curiosity as it slowly twitched. She looked around the unfamiliar room and noticed the camera in the corner. As more feeling started to return to her body, she carefully pushed herself to a sitting position. The wall in front of her looked like a window, but she couldn't see through it. Memories again assaulted her still sluggish mind and she took deep breaths even though it felt like the air was going nowhere and her lungs were still deprived.

The door slid open again and the nurse cautiously approached her. "Miss?"

"My name is Euphemia li Britannia!" Euphie cried as tears started cascading down her face. "I demand to see my sister Cornelia this instant!"

The nurse looked at her and slowly shook her head signaling no.

"What!? Why not!? I am a princess! I didn't do what that video showed! I couldn't! I would never do that!" Euphie cried violently and her body shook with tremors. Another nurse that she had never seen came in and held her down. "No! Don't touch me! Stop it!" She saw the needle that the familiar nurse was holding. "No please don't! I want my sister! Please!" The needle stuck her arm and she felt her body go slack.

She woke up the next time and just laid there. She didn't have any fight left in her. Nothing made sense. She felt broken. Her mind tattered and blowing in the wind. She turned her head to the side when she heard a clearing of a throat. It was the doctor this time.

"How are you feeling?" he asked in a quiet voice.

Euphie turned her head away and looked back up at the ceiling. She didn't trust her voice. She didn't trust her thoughts. She didn't trust herself anymore.

"You saw the video and based upon your reaction, I'm sure you have some questions or feelings. You can talk to me about it."

"N-no…" Euphie whispered. If she talked about it, it would mean it was real. "Why won't you let me see Cornelia?"

"We keep Princess Cornelia up to date on your condition, but we thought it would be better to assess what had happened without a third party element."

"What's wrong with me?" Euphie asked again barely above a whisper. "I wouldn't do that…"

"That's what we've been trying to determine."

"Does Suzaku Kururugi know what I did? Have you been in contact with him?" Euphie turned back to look at the doctor.

He shook his head and gave her that over sympathetic look again. "In the eyes of the world Euphemia li Britannia is dead. Zero killed her. Knight Kururugi doesn't know that you are alive."

"Oh…" Euphie could feel the prickling at her eyes and the pressure on her chest. "Can I talk to him and let him know I'm alive?"

"No."

"Can I talk to Cornelia?" Euphie felt the wet trails fall from her eyes to the pillow beneath her head.

"I'll see what I can do. She's been eager to see you for a while now. Maybe it will actually do some good for you."

"Thank you…" Euphie turned on her side and pulled the blanket over her head. Her heart hurt so unbelievably bad. Suzaku didn't know she was alive. He must be devastated. She would have to get better and go find him. It was the only option. Suzaku was her other half. She needed him and he needed her.

XXXXX

Euphie would never get to see her sister in the hospital because she was gone before her sister arrived. Euphie woke up that night to a small boy with long golden wheat hair sitting at the foot of her bed.

"Hello Euphemia. My name is V2."

Euphie listened to the boy talk. He told her about Geass and how that was what had been used on her by Lelouch. Sweat formed on her body as she listened to him explain. She couldn't find her voice and just listened. She finally did and asked how it was possible that she didn't feel Lelouch's order anymore in her system. He shrugged and said he wasn't sure. Maybe it was because she had nearly died or that her own willpower was stronger than the order in the end. He said it didn't matter in the long run and he reached out his hand to her. "I can give you that power too if you form a contract with me. The power to help save the world. Make it a kind and gentle place. That's what you want isn't it?"

Euphie swallowed. To save the world and make it gentle. To make everyone smile and feel happy. A world where bad things didn't happen. A world where the massacre that Lelouch had ordered wouldn't happen. Yes. Yes that was what she wanted. She reached her hand out and touched the little boys.

She was instantly transported to a world filled with nameless floating and merging bodies. She floated there completely naked, but she didn't feel embarrassed. She didn't feel panicked. For the first time in however long she had been locked up, months, a year, she didn't know, she felt at peace. An overwhelming calm settled over her body.

"Euphemia li Britannia do you accept the contract."

"Yes" she answered firmly.

She blinked a couple of times. As quickly as the world of swirling bodies had come, it was gone and she was sitting on the hospital bed again. V2 handed her a bag.

"Euphemia is dead. You can't walk around with that bright pink hair anymore. In the bag is a change of clothes and hair dye. I didn't know what color you'd prefer so I got a bunch. You could make a rainbow if you wanted to." V2 let out a little chuckle. "There is a path outside of the hospital on the left side. Take it and you will find a black car pulled off of the road. Hopefully you can drive. Oh there's some money as well. Have fun." V2 waved and walked out the unlocked door. He would keep an eye on her out of curiosity to see what power her Geass would choose and then he'd find a way to use it to his advantage.


	2. New Name - New Look

Euphie looked into the bag and pulled out the clothes. It was black slacks, a white t-shirt, and a black sweatshirt with a hood. Oh and some undergarments. That part made her blush. Especially when the bra actually fit her impressive chest. She changed and pulled the hood over her hair. She would escape first, find a place to hide and then spend the time dying her hair.

It didn't take long before she found the car. No she didn't exactly know how to drive, but it couldn't be that hard could it? She was wrong. It was hard. Like really hard and she squeaked and panicked the entire first 5 miles before she started getting used to it. After a couple of hours, she eventually reached a small town. She still had no clue where the hell she was, but assumed it was somewhere in the Homeland. She spotted a hotel and pulled into the parking spot. She got out and looked at her parking. She was definitely over the line. She backed out, but she had stepped on the gas too hard and then slammed on the breaks. She squeaked in surprise. It took her two more times before she was satisfied with the parking. She then walked to the front desk.

"Umm…excuse me mam, but could I rent a room?" Euphie asked in a polite quiet voice.

The large woman behind the counter looked at her sweetly. "Of course dear. I just need you to fill out this form quick."

Euphie took the form and offered pen and frowned in thought as she filled it out. It wanted her name, but she couldn't use her real name. She chewed on the pen thoughtfully. Euphie finally put the first name that popped into her head. Lina Wolfhart. Basically the last name came from her admiration of wolves. How they seemed strong and independent. That's what she needed to be now. Strong. She needed to make it on her own. She got stuck again when it asked for her home address.

The lady behind the counter looked at her with concern. The girl appeared to be a runaway of some kind and was way too delicate looking to be on her own. "Young lady are you ok?"

"Ah…what? Yeah of course" Euphie stumbled panicked and then smiled as sweetly as she could.

"You know what. Don't worry about the form dear or the money. You can have a room on the house for tonight."

"What!? Really? I couldn't. I mean…thank you… umm-"

The woman chuckled at the young lady's stuttering and pink cheeks. "It's fine really. Have you eaten anything recently...Miss…" The woman paused to look at the barely filled out form. "Wolfhart?"

Euphie's cheeks turned even rosier. "No…" she admitted sheepishly.

"Here you can have this room. It's on the second floor two door down from the elevator. I'll have some food sent up to you."

"T-thank you so much!" Euphie said with as much gratitude as possible as she accepted the key card. The woman nodded and motioned her towards the elevator. Euphie pressed floor two when she was inside and let out all the air that had been trapped in her lungs. She found the room easy enough. The room was on the smaller side with one bed, a little desk and dresser with a TV mounted on the wall. There was an attached bathroom with a small shower and toilet. She took a deep breath and flopped down on the bed and studied the light blue ceiling. It had bumps and little square designs on it.

She must have dozed off at some point as the knock on the door scared the beejeebies out of her and she fell off of the bed. She quickly scrambled to her feet and made sure the hood was over her pink hair before opening the door. She smiled charmingly at the young waiter and he blushed miserably at the cute girl. She thanked him as she accepted the plate of food and bottle of juice. The food was nothing spectacular, but it was the best thing she had tasted in like forever. It tasted like freedom.

When she was done eating, she pulled out the different hair dye from the bag. Green, blue, black, and dark purple. Green was too…earthy. Black reminded her too much of Lelouch and her heart clenched at that. How could he have done this to her? He had stolen her life away…Her own brother that she cherished. Purple was too much like her sister's hair. She decided on the dark blue color because she had always liked the color blue. It was somewhat soothing.

Euphie looked in the mirror when she was done. She didn't recognize the woman that looked back at her. She was still extremely pale with large lavender eyes. Her face still had the regal delicate shapes. Narrow nose, soft full pink lips, delicate feminine jaw and thin elegant eyebrows except now they were blue. She had found a scissor in the drawer and had chopped off more of her hair. It was now short and stood up in weird spikes. She did leave some long in the front to frame her face to make her at least feel somewhat feminine. She felt a weird pulsing in her heart. She really was no longer Euphemia li Britannia. That girl was dead. She was nobody now and she had no idea what to do with herself.

She flopped down on the mattress and tried to think of her next move. First she needed to find out what was going on in the world. She didn't know how long she had been locked up. The days had just become a blur after a while. She scrambled to a sitting position and scanned the room. When her eyes landed on the remote on the night stand she crawled up the bed and grabbed it. Her heart hammered in her chest as she hit the power button.

She let out a giggle at her overreaction when the first thing that appeared on the screen was a cartoon. She took a shaky breath and flipped through the channels looking for the news. Eventually she saw a nicely dressed male sitting at a desk and stopped clicking. She turned up the volume and hugged the pillow to her chest. What happened next had her jaw dropping.

Lelouch vi Britannia Emperor of Britannia. What!? When? How? The news caster showed a speech made by the new Emperor. Lelouch's aristocratic face held an air of arrogance and condescension when he spoke and what he spoke had Euphie's brain stuttering to catch up. It didn't sound like her Lelouch at all! What happened to him? This wasn't him…or was it…? Had he always been this person? He had started a violent rebellion. He had ordered her to massacre a whole race of people. What really had her stomach revolting though was that Suzaku was standing next to him as his Knight dressed in black. The tan face with soft curly brown hair framing it was devoid of any emotion at all. Schneizel and her half-sisters were also standing off to the side of the stage. What happened to them? What happened to her father? What happened to the world? What did Lelouch _do_?

Her thoughts of seeking out Suzaku slowly started dwindling away. Just like the feelings in her fingers. The pillow fell from her grasp. That wasn't Suzaku. It couldn't be. He would never team up with Lelouch…not that Lelouch anyways. That cruel heartless twisted version of himself. Suzaku was kind. Suzaku was just. His strong moral compass would never allow him to, but there he was. The faithful Knight to the new Emperor. Did Lelouch do this to him? Did he order him to be his Knight? She shut the TV off unable to bear the report of world conquest anymore.

She laid back on the bed and held her hand over her heart willing it to calm down. The blue square print ceiling blurring in her vision as the tears finally took over. Her Suzaku… Her heart… The missing part of her soul was lost to her. Her mind started wandering to the last time she had seen him in person. The last time she had seen the soft crinkle at the corner of his eyes as he smiled at her. The last time she had held him in her arms. The first and last time she had given herself completely to him.

 _Flashback-_

 _"Suzaku! We did it! The Special Administrative Zone will work!" Euphie giggled and wrapped her arms excitedly around the muscular chest pulling it against her own._

 _Suzaku chuckled and trailed his fingers gently through her long cascading pink hair. "You don't know that for sure yet. You have to get Zero to agree to it and I'm not very confident that he will. He is an untrustworthy terrorist Euphie."_

 _"No he will. I know he will because like me he wants a better and kinder world" Euphie said fondly as she nuzzled into the crook of a suntanned neck._

 _"You're always so hopeful and sunny. That's why I love you Euphie" Suzaku whispered against the side of her head. She shivered against him as his calloused fingers trailed down her exposed back._

 _Euphie pulled back a little bit, so that she could look into that tan face with bright green eyes. Her fingers twined through his fluffy brown hair and she smiled at him. Her fingers trailed across his defined jaw. "I love you too you know. More than anything. You are my Knight and my heart."_

 _Suzaku returned the smile and cupped her delicate cheek gently. "You are my heart too Euphie. I'll do anything for you. Even believe that Zero will allow the SAZ to take place." He pulled her closer and placed a gentle kiss to her soft delicate lips._

 _He tried to pull back, but Euphie held him firmly. He could have pulled away if he wanted to as he was way stronger than her, but he didn't. He never wanted to be away from her. "You're not going anywhere Kururugi" Euphie purred against his lips and kissed him a little firmer this time. "Stay with me."_

 _Suzaku smiled against her mouth and focused on kissing her again. His tongue reached out tentatively to caress her lower lip. Her lips parted as she sighed in pleasure. One hand held the back of his head firmly as the other one grabbed the front of his white uniform jacket. His own hands rested on her cheek and slim waist._

 _He pulled back slightly. "I would love to stay with you, but I'm pretty sure a Knight found in the Princess's chambers in the middle of the night is very much frowned upon." He chuckled at the end and kissed her gently._

 _"The door locks you know? No one would have to know" Euphie whispered and trailed the hand on his chest further south. She wanted Suzaku. She wanted to give herself to the man she loved. She felt so unbelievably happy right now. Everything would be wonderful after tomorrow._

 _Suzaku squeaked and grabbed her wrist when her hand brushed against the front of his pants. "Eu-Euphie! What are you doing!?" He asked with large green eyes._

 _A slow blush crept along her pale cheeks. "I want you Suzaku Kururugi. All of you. Will you give yourself to me?" She watched as the tan face in front of her grew increasingly red._

 _"W-what are you talking about!?" Suzaku took a step back and Euphie watched as the adorable muscled man visibly shook with…confusion? Anticipation? Fear? She wasn't sure, but smiled reassuringly at him. He watched with wide eyes as she walked to the door. The lock clicking in place echoed in the quiet room and he flinched. He continued to watch as she slipped off of her cream colored shoulder jacket and slowly slid out of her lilac dress. Her hips shaking ever so slightly as she wiggled out of it. His heart was hammering in his chest and the blush was now fully crawling down his neck and up his ears. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the woman in front of him dressed in only a silky looking pair of underwear. Her long pink hair cascaded down the front of her chest hiding the little pink nubs that were no doubt there._

 _"E-Euphie! You're naked!" He choked out. She giggled and the light tinkling sound had all of his blood rushing south. His body started to react in the most embarrassing of ways and he panicked. Nope. This was a definite nope. You do not hangout in a room with a naked Princess. It was the fastest way to lose one's life._

 _"Oh Suzaku. You're so innocent. I'm giving myself to you." Euphie walked closer to him. Her hips swayed gently and she smiled again as green eyes devoured her body. She reached up when she was close enough and trailed her fingers down his burning face. "Do you not want me?" She leaned forward and kissed his flaming cheek. He squeaked and shivered at her touch._

 _"I…I do…" He whispered in a shaky voice._

 _"Ok then" Euphie kissed his shaking lips and grabbed his hands. She placed one of his hands on her lower back and the other one on of her breasts. He let out a little whine. His lips parting just enough for her to slip her tongue in. His hands squeezed instinctively when her tongue caressed his and he moaned. His body pushed up against hers and she wrapped her arms around his lower back pulling him closer._

 _"Euphie…" He whispered in a husky voice as he rolled a hard nipple between his fingers. Euphie let out a little whimper and squirmed against him as his finger kept testing the little nub. He kissed her again hungrily and his other hand moved lower to keep her pressed up against him._

 _Euphie shivered at the new sensations of his hands and his…ah…excitement that was starting to press against her hip. Her hand slowly trailed around his waist and she carefully touched to explore this new development. Suzaku groaned into her mouth and his hips shifted to press harder against her hand._

 _Euphie broke mouth contact as Suzaku started breathing heavier. She nipped against his neck and he groaned again. The noise sending waves of heat crashing against her. Her delicate fingers rapidly started to under buttons and clips. Suzaku rocked against her and buried his face into her neck kissing messily. His hands were busy trailing against her lower back and tracing the edges of her underwear. Her body shivered and shook as tingling sensations flew through her nerves. He only removed his hands long enough for her to remove his jacket and shirt underneath. Then they were on her again caressing and grabbing hungrily. Her own fingers mapped the contours of his hard muscles._

 _She squeaked in surprise when he lifted her into the air like she weighed nothing. Her arms flew around his shoulders holding tightly as her legs clenched around his slim waist. He carried her to the bed and laid her down. He sat back on his ankles and just stared at her. Euphie felt a blush creep along her body and she reached out to him. He leaned into the touch and allowed her to pull his mouth back to hers. He groaned as he slipped his tongue into her mouth and she met him with hers. Her thighs gripped loosely around his hips as he rocked and rubbed against her. She arched her hips to meet him more fully._

 _"Suzaku…" Euphie moaned against his mouth and twined her fingers tightly into his hair. Her body was vibrating and aching to be filled. "I need you…" she added breathlessly._

 _Suzaku nuzzled against her shoulder biting gently as he took the hand that had been squeezing and pinching at her breast and trailed it down her soft stomach. Euphie squirmed at the ticklish feeling underneath of him. Her breathing frantic. He trailed against her underwear and groaned as his fingers pressed against the moist material in the center of her legs. He nudged the silky material aside and caressed the area with his finger. Euphie's hips bucked and one of his fingers slipped in eliciting a moan to tear from her throat._

 _"More…" she breathed heavily. Suzaku pressed deeper and her hips arched up into him. He trailed kisses down the front of her until he found a pink little nub. He twirled his tongue around it and Euphie whined. He added another finger and pumped them in and out of her with increasing speed as he played with his teeth and tongue. Her writhing body was erratic underneath of him. Arching. Squirming. Shivering. Her thighs tightened around his waist, the hands in his hair gripped tightly and a cry broke from her. Her body clamped down on his fingers and pulsed. He twirled his fingers gently as her hands and thighs dropped their tight hold on his body. Suzaku propped himself back up his elbows and kissed her flushed cheek gently._

 _"Wow…" Euphie said breathlessly she pulled him up softly and kissed him sucking gently on his lower lip. "You're amazing Suzaku…"_

 _Suzaku let out a breathless chuckle. "No. You're the one that is amazing Euphie."_

 _He started to pull away with the full intention of stopping at this point, but was stopped by delicate hands grabbing his biceps tightly. "Where do you think you're going? We aren't done yet" she smiled and pushed him down on the bed. He watched with clouded eyes as undid the fastenings of his pants and tugged at them firmly. "You're Princess orders you to lift your hips Kururugi. You wouldn't disobey your Princess would you?"_

 _Suzaku smiled at her. He would give her whatever she wants. "Never." He lifted his hips obediently and wiggled enough to help her remove his pants. He blushed horribly as she looked at his now fully naked body with large lavender eyes. She swallowed, licked her lips and looked at him._

 _"Impressive" she said before giggling and crawling back up him. His hands grasped her hips and then his fingers searched. Nope. No more underwear. He swallowed. This wasn't really happening was it? He didn't have time to dwell on it though as she descended onto him. His eyes screwed shut and head tilted back as a long groan escaped him. Felt so good._

 _A little moan escaped Euphie as she was stretched past what she had believed possible. It didn't hurt necessarily. Just felt different. Her eyes opened slowly once she was sitting flush on top of him. She scanned over his face that was scrunched. His lips parted to breathe. She leaned down and kissed those parted lips gently receiving the tiniest of groans in return. After a moment she lifted her hips slowly and pushed back down. The fingers on her hips tightened and she repeated the motion a little faster this time. She squeaked in surprise when she was rolled over._

 _Suzaku hovered over her and she locked her ankles behind his back. She swallowed once and then Suzaku was kissing her fiercely. His tongue diving deep into her mouth and pushing against whatever it could reach as his hips pulled back and snapped forward quickly. Euphie moaned into his mouth and clawed at his back. He repeated the action again. Slow moving out. Quick moving in. His hand gripping hard at her hip. His other arm occupied with supporting his weight. It didn't take long before her hips were moving to meet him and she was breathing heavily. Her brain a buzzing mess as Suzaku pounded into her. She gripped the sheet tightly and moaned long in pleasure as everything clenched inside of her and released. Suzaku's hips stuttered and he pulled out of her quickly. Euphie felt the warm goo fall onto her flat stomach and shivered as some trailed slowly down the side. It was the most happy and satisfied she had ever felt as Suzaku fell against her panting for air._

Euphie couldn't see the patterns in the blue ceiling anymore as tears exploded from her eyes. Suzaku…why?


	3. Lost and Found

Euphie woke up in the exact same spot she had laid down in last night. The light blue ceiling greeting her. She blinked a couple of times and pushed herself to a sitting position. She had obviously missed a lot of what was happening in the world. How long had she been in the darn hospital anyways?

She took a shaky breath and released the lip she had been chewing on. She didn't know a lot of things. She did come to a conclusion though. She would not be seeking Suzaku out. He had belonged to Euphemia and she wasn't that girl anymore. At least that's what she told herself. She was too afraid in reality of what she would find if she dug too deep. What if the Suzaku she loved really was gone? Her heart twisted at the thought of never seeing him again, but she blinked back her tears. She had existed prior to meeting him and she would learn to live without him now.

She grabbed her little backpack and the room key as she left the room. There was a different person behind the counter as she approached. A slim girl with long blonde hair. She looked to be about the same age as Euphie. "Umm…excuse me miss?"

The blonde turned around and studied her before smiling gently. "Are you miss Wolfhart?"

Euphie nodded. "I was just coming to return the room key and thank you very much for your hospitality."

The blonde pushed her delicate hand back and gave her a sweet smile. "My name is Mia and my mother said I was to inform you that you can stay as long as you need to at no charge."

Euphie's eyes grew with shock. "Oh! But I couldn't do that. I don't want to inconvenience you."

"It's not an inconvenience at all. We're more than happy to have you as a guest and if you need someone to talk to or need any help with anything, you can ask us."

Euphie shifted on her feet awkwardly. It didn't feel right to take advantage of these people, but she really didn't have anywhere else to go at the moment. "Um…ok thank you then…" She put the key card back into her pocket.

"Do you have plans for the day?"

"I was going to go out and explore the town, but I'm not really familiar with it."

"Would you like some company? I can have my brother run the counter while we're out."

Euphie smiled at the sweet girl. "That would be wonderful thank you."

Mia's cheeks turned slightly pink at the charming girl in front of her and she couldn't help to wonder where this girl came from. Also, who the hell cut her hair? It looked like a hot mess. She looked at the girl's attire and frowned. A baggie sweatshirt and slacks were not very flattering. The first place she brought Euphie was a clothing store when she said she didn't have any other clothing.

Euphie followed Mia around obediently as she didn't quite know where to go anyways. Her cheeks flared pink when the girl insisted that her outfit was subpar and allowed the girl to shove clothing in her arms. She vehemently declined the dresses and skirts though. She didn't know what her future held, but dresses and skirts were not practical. Also, they were a part of her past and when her eyes looked at the pretty patterns and colors, it left a tightness in her chest. She ended up with a pair of stretchy pants, a couple of extra shirts that were more form fitting and some undergarments. The undergarment shopping had her almost running for the hills with how excited the flat chested blonde was over her bust. Mia offered to pay, but Euphie declined. She didn't feel right about it.

They were walking down a street when Euphie saw a young boy crying his poor little heart out. She quickly walked over to him and kneeled down to his level. "What's wrong young man?"

"My dog died" The boy said between his tears and sniffled. "He was old and died…"

Euphie grabbed his hand gently. "It's ok. You don't need to feel sad. Your dog is in doggy heaven now." As soon as the words left her mouth an electric tingling feeling crept through her. Her vision skewed red for a second before vanishing. She blinked a couple of times. The boy was standing in front of her smiling.

"You're right miss! I don't need to be sad. Thank you!" The boy gave her a quick hug and scampered down the road.

Euphie followed the boy with her large lavender eyes and stood up slowly. What was that? Her musing was interrupted by Mia ruffling her blue hair fondly saying that was really sweet of her. Euphie gave her a shaky smile in return.

X

V2 sighed as he watched from the rooftop. What good was a Geass that made people feel better? How drab. What a disappointment. His hopes to use the young Britannian vanished. Lelouch had been such an excellent specimen. Too bad he couldn't have formed a contract with him. Life was so boring now that Charles and the Geass Order were gone. It didn't help that Cornelia and other useless nobodies were hunting him down. Life just sucked. What was he supposed to do with all of his extra time? He sighed one more time and walked away from the edge of the roof. He took the stairs down and vanished from sight.

X

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU LOST HER?" Cornelia yelled and slammed her hands on the desk in front of her. Her violet eyes boring holes into the doctor sitting on the other side.

"I'm not sure what happened. She was in her room the night before and the next day she was gone. We tried to look through security footage, but all the cameras had been knocked out. I assure you Princess Cornelia that we are doing everything we can to find her. She couldn't have made it far on foot."

"You had better find her. No one can know she's alive." Cornelia stood up thoroughly fed up with these fucking incompetent people. "And if you don't find her, I will personally shut you down and make sure none of you get another job ever again." She stormed out of the hospital in a fury. Her magenta hair swung violently as she slammed doors behind her.

Her knight Guilford opened the door to the car as she stormed up. He walked around the car and got into the driver's seat pushing his glasses up on his thin nose. "You look upset."

"They lost her. Apparently she just up and vanished in the middle of the night" Cornelia said sarcastically. "I will destroy them."

They drove in silence for a little while longer. "Do you think someone found out about her and kidnapped her?"

Cornelia almost broke the phone in her hand. "I doubt it. The only people who know are sworn to secrecy and I don't think they'd be careless enough to leak the information. I'm calling Zevon to see if they can use their network to help look for her. I don't trust those incompetent bumbling idiots."

"Are you sure it's wise to enlist Peace Mark? How are you going to explain her to them? If they know she is part of the Britannian royal family she becomes not only a target, but a symbol as Princess Massacre."

Cornelia felt the urge to violently break something, but seeing as she was in a moving vehicle with a trusted friend she refrained and just seethed quietly. "We have to find her. I'll just ask Zevon to help and if he hears anything from the other members to let me know" Cornelia said finally and dialed the number. Guilford glanced one more time at her, but remained silent.

"Hello Witch" Orpheus answered blandly. "What do I owe such a pleasure?"

"I need your help again" Cornelia said in a strained voice. "I need you to help me locate someone."

Orpheus paused in sharpening the blade of his dagger and actually held the phone instead of resting it between his ear and shoulder. "Continue."

"A girl with pink hair around her late teens. I can't giv-"

"You want me to help you locate your sister who isn't really dead is she?"

Cornelia glared out the front window of the car. "How could you possibly know that?" Cornelia ground out.

"I have my connections. The answer is no. Our partnership starts and ends with Geass and trying to destroy the source. We are not friends and I am not going to waste my time chasing down a bubblegum haired ex-princess. I have my own goals that need to be accomplished."

"I would pay you."

"Still not interested. I make enough money actually working towards what I want."

Cornelia growled. "Fine. Could you just keep an eye and ear out in case you stumble across something on the progression of your _goals_ and let me know?"

Orpheus started sharpening his blade again. "Fine. If you keep me posted on any development of finding V2, but I supposed you'll be distracted for a while."

"I will keep you posted. Goodbye Zevon."

"Goodbye Witch."

Cornelia groaned and held her head in her hands. Her hair cascading down like a curtain hiding her face from the world. She needed to find Euphie. She should have never left her there once she found out it was Geass that had twisted her. Her sister was too delicate and precious for this world.

X

Euphie passed the next couple of days pleasantly. She knew that she should leave, but she just couldn't find the willpower to. She had a warm bed and food. She enjoyed spending time with Mia and the other staff. She watched the news every night learning more about the world and Lelouch's tyranny and the destruction he was ordering that the soldiers of Britannia followed faithfully. She started to get a feeling of what she needed to do. She needed to stop Lelouch and Suzaku from causing any more pain and misery. She just didn't know how.

She was walking into the main lobby one morning for breakfast when she happened to hear the question. She peeked slowly around the corner and saw a man in a suit talking to Mia.

"I'm just asking miss if you have seen a young girl about your age with shoulder length pink hair."

Mia frowned at the man. She hadn't failed to notice the left over blue hair dye along Euphie's hair line. "And I asked why you want to know?"

Euphie's heart hammered in her chest threatening to drown out the voices of the two at the counter. Her palms started to get sweaty and shook slightly.

"The girl is a danger to herself and she needs to be brought back to our hospital to ensure her safety."

"What kind of hospital?" Mia glared at the large man in the suit.

"I'm not at liberty to say more. I'm just trying to help the young lady."

"Well there has been no young woman matching that description in here, so I'm afraid I cannot assist you any further. Now if you'll excuse me I have work to do. Please leave."

Euphie breathed quickly as the man's eyes scanned the room and she hid behind the corner again. She put her hand over her heart and took a deep breath before running quickly back up the stairs. She grabbed her freshly laundered clothes and shoved them in her backpack. If they were in this town, it was only a matter of time. She was planning on leaving through the front door, but she saw the man through a window. She ducked back around the corner and looked around frantically. Her eyes landed on an open window and she climbed the hell out of it falling hard on the ground outside. She pulled herself up and made a mad dash to her car.

She hit the lock button and took deep breaths. Ok. She could do this. She turned the key with a shaky hand and this time pressed extremely gently on the gas as she reversed. She squeaked when she heard metal scrape on metal and slammed on the breaks. Her eyes scanned frantically back to the front seeing that she had ran into the car next to her. Oops. For crying out loud woman calm down, she scolded herself. She pulled forward and tried again. This time successfully escaping between the two cars. She then eased herself on the main road and carefully drove away trying not to draw any more attention to herself.

The moment she hit a freeway, her foot pushed harder on gas. The farther she moved away from the town the more her breathing eased and the buzzing in her head started to dissipate. She just kept driving and driving. She ignored the grumbling of her stomach. She ignored the dryness in her throat. She tried really hard to ignore her bladder, but it was screaming at her. She frowned there was no town in sight and she really really had to pee. She passed a little forest area and pulled over. She did a little hoppity dance as she ran behind a tree and relieved herself. Her face and ears turning bright red in the process. Never in her life did she expect to pee behind a tree. She giggled when she thought of what Cornelia would say if she saw her. She wiggled back into her skin tight black stretchy pants and jogged back to the car. She buried her face momentarily behind her hands as her embarrassment lingered.

She finally collected herself and turned the car on again and pulled back onto the road. The sun had already set when the car started to sputter. Euphie's delicate blue eyebrows furrowed in confusion. What was wrong with the car? She knew nothing about cars. She kept driving until it sputtered to a complete stop and then it hit her. Gas. She needed gas. She groaned and hit her head against the steering wheel hard. She eeped and cradled her damaged forehead. Little tears springing to her eyes and threatening to spill. She was so completely useless and now she was stranded in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night. She was hungry and thirsty and had no idea where she was.

She reclined the seat and looked up to the gray material of the car roof. Little tears trickling down the sides of her pale cheeks. What had her life come to? She wasn't prepared for this. She doesn't know how much time elapsed as she laid there reclined in the car seat. She dozed off every so often into a fitful sleep.

She screamed as she was awoken by a knock on the car window. She blinked a couple of times as she tried to calm down her racing heart. There was another knock and her eyes snapped open and she looked out the window. It was still dark, but she could make out a man. She made sure the door was locked and pushed the window lower button, but it didn't work. She frowned and contemplated her choices. Ignore the man and make an extremely awkward situation or open the door and hope that he was a decent human being. If she did nothing, she would still be stranded. She looked again out the window and now the man was bent down looking at her with a kind smile. She hesitantly returned it and opened the door.

"Are you having car trouble young lady?" The man asked kindly. He had dark brown hair and a little beard. He appeared to be in his early 30s maybe.

"Umm…yes…it appears I ran out of gas…" Euphie responded with an awkward giggle and scratched the back of her head. She had averted her gaze, so he missed his eyes scanning her body.

"Do you need a ride into the city? I'm heading that way right now and can give you a lift."

Euphie turned hopeful lavender eyes back at him and the man felt excitement course through him. Such a pretty young thing. "Really? I mean I wouldn't want to be a bother…"

"You wouldn't be at all. My name is Jarsdel. What is yours?"

"Lina Wolfhart."

"Well miss Wolfhart why don't you grab your things and we can be on our way. Oh and I have a couple friends with me just so you know, but they are all good people."

"O-ok. Thank you so much!" Euphie scrambled back into the car and grabbed her backpack.

Jarsdel looked over her bent form and had to suppress the urge to just touch. He would bide his time until they were someplace less open. Silly naïve pretty girl. When she turned around he smiled sweetly at her and held out his hand. She slowly accepted it and he marveled at how smooth her hand was. He wondered what the rest of her felt like.

Euphie swallowed as she climbed into the back seat next to a slim man with straight light brown hair. He smiled nicely at her and she returned it with a shaky smile of her own. There was another man in the front seat that looked similar to Jarsdel, but his dark brown hair was curly. As they continued to drive, an uneasiness settled heavily on Euphie. Something felt wrong. They were nice to her and smiled sweetly, but she couldn't stop the tremors of fear that were crawling up her spine.

When they pulled into a parking garage underneath a building and parked the vehicle. Euphie clutched her bag and quickly exited the car. She was just about to make a dash for it when a strong hand grasped her upper arm tightly. "Umm…thanks for the ride…but I…uh need to go" Euphie said hastily and tried to pull away.

The man with dark brown curly hair called Chips smiled at her. "But you look tired and hungry. You can stay with us for tonight."

Euphie's fear spiked. "No. That's ok. Please let go of me" Euphie said in a panicked voice and tried to pull away, but she was so pitifully weak.

Jarsdel was in front of her now and his smile was no longer friendly. It was predatory and Euphie's body shivered violently. "Didn't anyone teach you any manners?"

Her body was dragged to an elevator and her mouth was covered by a calloused manly hand. Tears were falling freely from her eyes and she was struggling. As soon as the door slid shut the hand was removed and she was smacked across the face. Stars erupted in her vision as her head jolted harshly. The next thing she became aware of was that she was being shoved on a couch in an apartment. The three men were in Britannian military garb and they were looking at her with hungry eyes. Euphie crouched in on herself as her body shook. "P-please don't!" she said in a shaky voice as little sobs escaped her.

Jarsdel grabbed her arm violently and pulled her up to a standing position. The light haired man named Mirren was resting against a wall with folded arms watching. Chips took a little pocket knife and cut the front of her shirt slightly before ripping it violently. Euphie squeaked in fear and tried to pull away. "Y-you should feel ashamed of yourselves!" She sobbed out. Her vision turned red and Jarsdel's hand dropped her arm.

"You're right. What are we doing?" He looked at her with wide shame filled eyes. "This is wrong! We shouldn't be doing this." He looked at Chips with disgust. Euphie blinked a couple of times.

Chips looked at him in confusion. "What are you talking about?" Euphie tried to dash past him in confusion, but he grabbed her wrist.

Euphie pulled at the hold in panic and then stood still for a moment thinking. "You should feel unbelievably sad about your life choices." Euphie stared at the man through red vision. He made a choking sob noise and broke out in tears falling to his knees. The grip on her wrist loosened enough and she tore her hand free.

Before she could process anymore thoughts there was a tight grip in her hair and she was being yanked and thrown against a wall. All the air in her lungs escaped at the impact. "What the hell did you do to them?" Mirren growled into her face. Euphie scrambled and clawed at the hand pulling her hair and tried to kick the man. She was just about to test out her new found power again when the door was thrown open and a man with long blonde hair walked in. Mirren let go of her and looked at the new comer. "Who the hell are you?" He went for the gun on his hip, but before Euphie had time to blink there was a dagger slashing his throat. Hot blood splattered on her face. Her eyes shot open with panic as the man fell to the ground clutching his throat.

The blonde went for the other two who were scrambling to collect themselves. Jarsdel had another dagger plunged into his chest and the blonde turned on Chips wielding the remaining dagger in his hand. Chips was still crying uncontrollably and trying to fend off the violent man. He tripped over the coffee table and broke out in a scream as the dagger buried itself deep in his stomach.

Everything felt like it was moving in slow motion to Euphie as she watched in panic. She then became of the noise outside. The gunfire and crashing. When Chips screamed out at the impact of the dagger in his stomach Euphie scrambled to her feet and rushed forward. "W-wait! You don't need to kill him!" She choked out.

The blonde that was straddling the other man turned mint green eyes on her. He scanned her appearance noting the torn shirt, swollen lip and bruises. "You're kidding right? Weren't these men about to rape you?"

Euphie swallowed. "Y-yeah, but people make mistakes right? It doesn't mean he should be killed. You already won this battle right?"

The blonde frowned at her again and just stared as she walked over to them on shaking legs and a shaky smile. He was about to say something else when the apartment wall was blasted apart as the impact of knightmare frame hit it. Orpheus ducked to avoid the fragments flying past him. He winced when his thigh was hit. He quickly looked back to where the strange bluenette had been standing and saw her lying on the floor.

"Shit!" he let go of his hold on the man beneath him and walked over to the girl. She was still breathing and had a wicked head gash and a metal bar sticking out of her shoulder. He didn't know this girl and had no idea why he was wasting energy on her, but he wasn't going to think too hard on it at the moment. He yanked the metal bar out and lifted her over his shoulder and ran out of the destroyed apartment to avoid getting hit in anymore cross fire.


	4. Taking in a Lone Wolf

Orpheus cleaned the wound on the girls pale forehead first to avoid any more blood escaping her. He wrapped it tightly and then moved onto her shoulder. He finished removing the torn shirt and repeated the cleaning and binding of the wound.

He grabbed a little basin of water and a wash cloth before coming back to sit on the stool next to the still unconscious girl. His eyes scanned over her. This girl was to pretty and delicate looking, but that haircut. Just wow. Awful. He wondered how she ended up in a high ranking Britannian officer's apartment. He carefully wiped the blood off of the elegant face. He looked at the swollen lip and sighed before slowly disinfecting the area as well. His fingers pulled the soft delicate pink lip back to clean on the inside. Once her face was cleaned he went and got fresh water.

He came back and started washing off the blood from her neck, slim arm and across her chest. He paused when he noticed a scar right above her bra line on her left breast. His thumb skimmed over the white raised bump and he frowned. He sighed and went back to his cleaning. When he was satisfied enough, he pulled a blanket over her.

He stepped under the warm spray of the shower and slowly washed himself off. His hands roamed over his toned chest and abs with the body wash. He glanced down at his leg that stung when the water hit it. Now that the adrenaline and the distraction of the girl was wearing off, he realized that the wound on his leg wasn't exactly just a shallow cut. He frowned for the like the millionth time that night and finished washing himself off. He then dried off and threw on a t-shirt and a pair of shorts. He walked back into the main living area of the apartment he was currently using. The girl was still sleeping on the counter where he left her. He bandaged up his leg and then grabbed a bottle of juice from the fridge. He drank slowly and looked at the girl. What the hell was he supposed to do with her?

He mentally shrugged. Oh well. He'd have to wait for her to wake up anyways. He went to his computer and replied to Peace Mark request saying that Britannia military outlet 12 was eliminated and that Sergeant Major Jarsdel Harrington was nullified. Orpheus was stuck between satisfaction for getting rid of another member of Pluton and disappointment of not accomplishing enough towards his goals. He scanned the new listings by Peace Mark while he waited for the girl to wake up. When he heard a very feminine groan, he stood up and walked over to her.

Euphie blinked up at the blonde with mint green eyes. "W-where am I?" she mumbled and tried to push herself up. She let out a little scream as pain radiated through her shoulder. The man's hands instantly helped ease her back down.

"You should lay down. You got a pretty nasty hit to the head and shoulder."

"Oh."

Orpheus watched as delicate blue eyebrows scrunched together and a little pouty frown appeared on the soft pink lips. "Do you remember anything?" He watched the large lavender eyes blink.

"Uh…yeah… did you kill that man?" Euphie asked and turned her head to look at him.

"Maybe. Not sure. I was too busy pulling you from the rubble. I don't understand why you didn't want me to kill him. He is scum of the Earth for what he does for Britannia and what he was about to do to you."

"Yeah maybe, but thinking that other people are scum or hurting them doesn't make the world a kinder place."

Orpheus pinched the bridge of his nose and let out an exasperated sigh. "They were going to hurt you. How did you end up there anyways?" He watched her closely as a pink hue took over her pale cheeks.

"I was stupid… I ran out of gas and they seemed nice and offered to help me…"

"Wow. You are really naïve aren't you? You shouldn't be running around by yourself. Where is your family? I'm going to return you to them and then scold them for not teaching you anything about the world."

Euphie chewed at her lips and then eeped when she felt a stinging feeling. "I don't have a family anymore… or anywhere to return to…" she mumbled and looked away. Little tears forming in her eyes again. Really what had happened to her life? This wasn't the way it was supposed to be at all.

Orpheus looked at the young woman two seconds away from crying and groaned internally. Really what the hell was he supposed to do with her? "Well you came from somewhere right? Can't you just go back?"

Large tear filled lavender eyes looked at him in terror and she sat up in panic. She swayed dangerously on the counter and Orpheus was forced to grab onto her to steady her movements. The sheet falling off in the process. "No! I won't go back there ever!" she said defiantly.

Once he felt like she wouldn't fall off the edge, he removed his hands and rubbed the back of his head. He looked away from the girl and he was most certainly _not_ blushing. "Well you can stay here until you're healed and then I'm kicking you out and you can go wherever you want…" he mumbled and started walking away. He grimaced slightly putting weight on his leg.

Euphie watched the pain on his face and then a brilliant idea struck her. She could obviously effect people's emotions with her Geass. Maybe she could make pain go away too. She grabbed his wrist before he had gone too far. He looked back at her with raised eyebrows. "Um…thank you for rescuing me by the way… and…umm…" she pursed her lips in thought. "You don't need to feel pain in your leg anymore."

Orpheus watched the girl's right eye flash red and then all the pain in his leg vanished. His jaw dropped open and he gawked at her. It took him about 3 seconds before he grabbed her upper arms violently. "You possess Geass?" he said in a demanding tone.

Euphie stared at him with wide eyes. The pain in his grip registering in her shoulder. "Y-yes!" she answered in a shaky voice.

"Were you part of the Geass Order?"

"The what?"

Orpheus growled and tightened his grip. "Where did you get Geass from?"

Euphie was scared and trying desperately to get out of his grip. It hurt. "From a boy with blonde hair named V2."

Orpheus growled again and released her just as violently as he had grabbed her. He took a step back as he took deep breaths. "Where did you last see him?"

"I don't know where it was!" Euphie cried. "I don't even know where I am now!"

Orpheus took deep breaths and walked away from the girl before he did anything stupid. He sat down on the couch and looked up at the ceiling. They sat in silence for quite a bit of time. Orpheus was trying to calm the fuck down and he was also letting the sobbing girl have a chance to collect herself.

Euphie watched from the counter and once her little hiccupping sobs stopped she hopped off and walked over to the man on the couch. "I really am sorry I can't tell you anymore" she said quietly and sat down next to him. "Are you looking for V2?"

"Yes."

"Why?" Euphie tilted her head slightly to side and stared at him.

Orpheus looked at her again. Too fucking cute he mentally thought. He stopped for moment in surprise that he had just thought that. He hadn't thought that about anyone since Euliya. The girl that he loved more than anything in this world. The girl that V2, Pluton and his uncle Oiaguro Zevon killed. He shook his head to clear it and ran his hand through his long blonde hair. "To finally put an end to him and his Geass and to avenge someone that was dear to me" He glanced at her again. "It appears he is still making contracts. Why did you agree to a contract with him anyways?"

"That's simple. To make the world a kinder and gentler place. He told me I would gain the power to make it happen."

Orpheus gave her an incredulous look. "Wow. You really are naïve…"

"Hey! It could happen! I took the pain away in your leg right? I can use my power to make people happy."

"People need to feel pain sometimes. It's what makes us alive. If we were happy all of the time, we wouldn't know what happiness was. There would be nothing to gauge it against. And in regards to the pain in my leg, sometimes it's necessary to feel that pain. If I don't feel the pain, I won't know when to stop and might injure myself more."

"Oh… I never thought about it like that…" Euphie said quietly and looked away from the man next to her. He was pretty smart wasn't he?

Orpheus studied the thoughtful little look she had on her face. This woman was so _weird_. Where the hell did she come from? As he was scanning her again, he suddenly became achingly aware that she was sitting there in only a pastel blue silky bra and she had a _very_ nice body. He blushed hard and stood up quickly. She looked at him with curious lavender eyes as he walked over to a dresser and pulled out a t-shirt. He turned back to her and his eyes landed on the bandaged shoulder that was already turning pink. He frowned and grabbed a zip up hoodie instead. He walked back to her and averted his eyes. "Here. To cover yourself up…"

Euphie looked down at herself and flushed horribly. The red creeping all the way to her ears. She grabbed the hoodie and eased it over her injured arm only grimacing slightly. The ache really wasn't at all pleasant.

Once Orpheus heard the zipping sound he sat back down next to her. "What's your name by the way?"

"Lina Wolfhart. What's yours?"

"Orpheus Zevon."

Euphie frowned that sounded familiar… "Oh like Oldrin Zevon?"

Orpheus turned wide eyes at her again. "How-"

Euphie was looking at him closely. "Wow you do really look like her now that I think about it. Like a lot. Are you her brother?"

Orpheus blinked. Seriously? Who was this girl? His eyes narrowed at her. "Yes…She's my twin sister. How do you know her?"

"Ah…" Euphie's eyes shifted frantically as she thought of a reason that she would know the Glinda Knight pilot. It wasn't like she could say it was because of her half-sister Marybell being best friends with the girl. "Well the Zevon's are a well-known Britannian family right?" she laughed awkwardly.

Orpheus didn't believe that bullshit for a second and glared at her. "That doesn't answer the question…" he said carefully. He did not miss the definite nervous shifting.

"Umm… I used to have a sister that knew her…" Euphie finally mumbled. Not able to come up with anything better and a half-truth would be more believable anyways.

Orpheus gave up. Not only did this woman have no idea where she was, have the power of Geass, was off the charts naïve, but now she knew his sister and very much seemed to not want to tell him anything about it. "I don't understand you…" he grumbled.

"Well we just met. Of course you don't understand me. We have to get to know each other a little bit more" Euphie said sweetly thanking her lucky stars that it didn't appear he was going to question her more about the whole Oldrin thing. She really needed to watch what she says in the future.

He gave her another confused frown. "It's way past my bedtime. Let's go to bed." Orpheus stood up and walked to the cupboard pulling out a bottle of painkillers. Euphie had followed him and was watching with curiosity. He handed her the pills and a full glass of water. "It will help with the pain."

"Oh. Thank you" she said and gave him a charming smile that had him averting his gaze.

"You can sleep on the bed in the corner. I'll sleep on the couch."

"T-that's not necessary! It's your apartment… you can sleep on your bed."

"No. I insist. The bed is yours."

"Alright. If you insist. Thank you Orpheus" Euphie said a tad bit shyly and then made herself comfortable on the bed. She watched Orpheus grab a blanket and pillow and as he made the couch up. He glanced at her once and then flipped the light off. Euphie sighed. What a day. If she was going to survive in this world by herself, she would need to get stronger. She needed to protect herself from ever falling into a similar situation ever again. She shivered violently as the memories of the three men came back to her. There was nothing to distract in the dark and all she could think about were their predatory eyes and their strong hands grabbing her. A little choking sob escaped her and she started breathing quicker, but it felt like no oxygen was reaching her lungs. She screamed when a hand touched her forehead and she pulled away violently causing pain to shoot through her arm again.

"H-hey calm down! It's just me, Orpheus" he said quickly and flipped on the lamp next to the bed. He took in the panicked eyes and ghost white complexion. "Shh…hey it's ok. You're safe…" he said soothingly and carefully petted the side of her head avoiding where the gash was.

Euphie made a little choking noise and pulled him into a tight hug. Orpheus eyes flew open in surprise. "I-I'm sorry…I just… I see them when I close my eyes and I can feel their hands on me… I just can't…I… why does my life have to be like this? It was never supposed to be like this."

Orpheus was straight up confused and unnerved. This woman was clinging to him desperately and he had no fucking clue what to do. He hadn't been hugged for like 2 years and it was so fucking weird. The delicate face shoved into the crook of his neck coating it with tears was _weird_. He took a deep breath through his nose and stroked her back softly. "It's ok… They aren't here and they definitely will never be touching you again. You know since they are very dead."

A choked giggle broke through her sobs and the vibration penetrated through him. "I can't believe that it makes me feel better knowing someone is dead…what am I becoming…?" she mumbled between little sobs against his shoulder.

"Maybe you're becoming a normal person…?" Orpheus responded having no fucking clue what to say to her and hoping it would make her feel at least slightly better.

Euphie let out a puff of air. "Maybe…" she continued. "You don't even know me yet you rescued me and patched me up and now you're being nice to me. Thank you" she finished in a whisper.

Orpheus shrugged. "I just don't think someone as innocent and delicate looking as you should be put into situations like that…"

Euphie pulled back and stared into the mint green eyes. "Can I ask you for a favor?" Euphie asked hesitantly.

"Ah sure?"

"Since you seem to know how to fight…would you teach me how to defend myself? I never want to be in a situation like that again…"

Orpheus looked at the woman in front him. Pale complexion offset from the red puffiness from crying and the bruise around her mouth. Soft pink lips with a swollen lower lip. Disheveled dark blue hair sticking up in angles that were just ridiculous partly due to her hair cut and partly due to the bandage wrapped around her forehead. All in all she looked like shit. Her large lavender eyes were looking at him hopefully. He groaned. He did not have time for this. However, he didn't feel like he could just abandon her back in the world with nowhere to go and no means to protect herself. She was too sweet and naïve for that. "Fine… for a little bit until you can hold your own…" he grumbled.

Euphie gave him a wide smile. "Thank you! Oh my goodness thank you!"

Orpheus gave her a strained smile. "Do you think you'll be able to sleep now? I'm exhausted."

"Ah yeah…but can you leave this light on?"

"Yes. If it makes you feel better, god yes."

Orpheus stood up and walked back to the couch. He sighed in defeat when he heard her say goodnight all sweet like. What the hell did he get himself into? His life did not leave room to take care of another person, but here he was taking in a strange bluenette who was all sorts of messed up. Well at least it would be interesting and he might learn more about V2.


	5. Welcome to Peace Mark

**Author disclosure -** _So Orpheus and other Oz The Reflection characters are probably going to end up a little OOC as I only know what internet has told me about them. I just can't help liking them though and wanting to use them in stories. Probably because I'm kind of a Wizard of Oz nerd... fun fact the ruby slipper were actually silver in the books. Glinda was the good witch of the South not the North...Ozma of Oz thought that she was a real boy, but in fact was a real cute girl... but I digress._

 _Moral of this author note is that I apologize in advance for any misrepresentation of the characters._

* * *

Orpheus woke up in the next day with a slight sleep deprived headache. It took him a couple of moments to fully come to. He stared up at the ceiling. Did he really agree to let that woman stay with him and agree to teach her to defend herself? What was wrong with him? He should have just shipped her off to someone else. He didn't have time to babysit a naïve girl. He had to finish hunting down the member of Pluton, find his uncle, find V2 and be done with this whole horrid affair. He frowned and slowly sat up to look at the weird girl he had rescued. The girl that was currently poking at the bandage on her head and staring at the ceiling.

"Hey Wolfey, you ok over there?" Orpheus called out to get her attention.

Large lavender eyes turned towards him and blinked as blue eyebrows furrowed. "Wolfey?"

"Yeah. That's what I plan on calling you from now on since your last name is Wolfhart and that's a mouthful."

"Oh. Ok" Euphie slowly sat up and looked at the man staring at her with guarded eyes. "So what do we do now?"

Orpheus stared at her in deliberation. Really what to do now was a good question. He looked at the bandage around her head and noticed the pink tint over her wound. "We clean your cuts. Come on" Orpheus stood up and walked over to the kitchen. Euphie followed him and stood waiting for his next direction. "Here sit on this stool." Euphie sat. "Remove the sweatshirt from your shoulder." Euphie unzipped the sweatshirt and carefully pulled her arm out with only a slight grimace. Orpheus had to suppress an amused smirk. She really was like a tame wolf obeying his commands. "Ok Wolfey this might hurt as I remove the bandage if the blood caked itself to it."

He carefully started to unwind the bandage that he had wrapped around the wound. When he got to the end it was indeed stuck a little and Euphie squeaked in pain. He frowned and cut off all the loose bandage material. He then grabbed the basin of water and wet down the stuck area. Once it was damp enough he started to remove it again gently. He also noticed that the bra she was wearing was blood stained, but that was a whole other problem he did not want to deal with at the moment. Eventually he would have to take her to a store to buy more clothes, but not when it looks like she had the shit beat out of her.

Euphie watched with wide eyes as the bandage was finally removed and she could see the point of impact. "Wow. That looks painful…" she said quietly. Orpheus looked at her like she was stupid and she quickly shut her mouth into a thin line and glared back at him. "What?" she asked indignantly. "I was just giving my opinion."

Orpheus scratched his head and shook it slightly. "Of course it looks painful. Isn't it painful to you?"

"Yeah… It just looks worse then what I thought it would" Euphie said indifferently and shrugged which caused the dull ache to flare up for a second.

Orpheus grabbed her slim shoulder gently. "Don't move around so much or it might bleed more."

"Ok. Got it. Stay still" Euphie sat perfectly still with perfect posture.

Orpheus didn't question it further and was just reminded of his previous thought of having a trained wolf for a pet. Albeit more like a wolf pup that didn't know anything and would be torn apart by any other carnivore out there. He cleaned the wound and watched the delicate face form into a pained frown, but not a squeak came out of that delicate mouth. He rewrapped the wound with fresh bandaging. "Ok you can put the sweatshirt back over your arm." Euphie obeyed. "Head next."

Euphie nodded slightly and took a deep breath. "Will this hurt too?"

"Probably…" Orpheus started to unwrap the bandaging trying to not to pull any of the blue hair at the same time. He repeated the process of cutting off the excess, wetting down the wounded area, and finished by removing the remaining material. He frowned as he cleaned the gash on her forehead. This was probably going to leave a scar. Although it didn't appear to be her first one. "How'd you get the scar on your chest?" he asked as he worked.

"Uh…umm…" Euphie's eyes shifted and she started fidgeting.

Orpheus frowned. "Quit moving."

"Oh right…" Euphie froze instantly. "I can't tell you about that scar…" she mumbled quietly. Barely above a whisper.

Orpheus started re-bandaging her forehead. "That bad huh?"

Little tears had formed at the corners of her eyes and she looked away from him. "I guess you could say that…"

He secured the fastening around her head. "Ok. Up." Euphie stood up and he sat down on the stool and worked on cleaning and re-bandaging his leg. Euphie watched him the whole time and it made him feel self-conscious. "So you aren't going to ever talk about your past with me are you?" he asked to break the weird tension. He couldn't really fault her. It wasn't like he was divulging his fucked up life anytime soon.

She let out a little chuckle. "Nope. I'm afraid I can't do that Orphie."

He gave her a little glare. "No. Not an acceptable nickname Wolfey."

"Mmm… Fine" she responded with a teasing smile.

Orpheus groaned. Really what the hell did he get himself into? He grabbed her more pain killers and she took them without any fuss. "I have some work to do, so you get to cook breakfast. To make it simple, just fry up some eggs and make toast." Orpheus stood up and started walking over to his computer. He stopped when he heard an unsure umm sound. He turned back and looked at the pink faced girl. "Yes?" he asked slowly.

"I don't really know how to make eggs… I could probably figure out the toast thing though…" Euphie kind of wished the floor would swallow her up at the moment by the look Orpheus was giving her. It wasn't her fault that other people had always cooked for her…

"You have got to be kidding me? Where did you come from?" Orpheus asked in disbelief and walked back to the kitchen. "Well you're learning today. Wash your hands in the sink." Euphie did so. He washed his own hands and situated the skillet on the stove top. He turned the knob to on and walked over to the fridge. Euphie followed him with her large eyes and he had to suppress yet another groan. This was not what he was cut out for. Killing and getting revenge – yes. Teaching a strange girl the basics of life – no. "Ok you just put a little bit of oil on the pan and then you take the egg and hit it softly to crack the edge. You then take and gently pull it apart. Ok now you try."

Euphie swallowed and her face formed into one of fierce determination. That looked simple enough. She grabbed an egg and tapped it against the side of the pan. She frowned when it didn't crack. She tried again, but was too forceful this time. It cracked dangerously and she squeaked. She quickly put it over the pan and gently finished pulling it apart. She frowned looking at the little pieces of shells that fell into the pan.

Orpheus watched torn between amusement and frustration. His eyes glanced at the little pout on her mouth and he couldn't stop the little smirk that appeared on his own. "Ok. That was awful, but at least it ended up in the pan. A little shell never killed anybody. Try again."

Euphie pulled the side of her lower lip that wasn't swollen between her teeth and tried again. This time she was successful and she turned to look at Orpheus with a wide happy smile. "I did it!"

Orpheus blinked taking in the overly excited face. Who gets that excited about cracking an egg? He returned her smile with a tiny one of his own with just a tad bit of exasperation. "Good job. Do it again. We'll make three eggs for each of us." He watched as she cracked three more eggs. Two successfully. One not so much and more eggshells fell in. He thought about trying to dig them out, but seriously that sounded like a lot of work.

"Now what?" Euphie asked staring at the pan.

Orpheus handed her a spatula. "Let them cook for a little bit. You can then try to flip them once they are white instead of clear or you can just scramble them."

"Oh scrambling sounds like more fun" Euphie said with a wicked little grin. She was cooking for the first time in her life and she felt a strange satisfaction about it. Look at her being all independent and stuff. This was great.

Orpheus wasn't sure if he should leave her to cook alone or not. If he left he ran the risk of not only having egg shells in his food, but also the chance the food would be burned. He gave up and plugged the toaster in instead. Euphie watched him with curious eyes as he put two pieces of bread into it. He glanced back at the pan. "You can scramble them now…"

Euphie smiled at the pan and then started to scramble them. She laughed evilly in her head at the action. She then paused in her laughing and wondered if she was going crazy. Scrambling eggs shouldn't make someone laugh like a maniac, should it?

Orpheus watched her with confusion. He had seen the wicked glint in her eyes when she started scrambling the eggs and now she just looked thoughtful gazing at them. He finished making the toast and adding butter and jelly to them. He set two slices on each plate and glanced back at the skillet. "Ok. They are done." He grabbed the spatula from her and dished up eggs on each plate. He handed her a plate and headed for the couch.

"Wait…ah where are you going?" Euphie asked with confusion.

"To watch TV while I eat" he replied with indifference.

Euphie followed him. "You eat on the couch and not at a table?" The wonder in her voice was evident and he glanced at her as he sat down.

He shrugged. "Sometimes." He flicked on the TV and took a bite of food.

Euphie sat down next to him and didn't say anything further as she started to eat.

Orpheus noticed after a while that Euphie wasn't eating and was staring wide eyed at the TV. It was a news station explaining how the new Emperor had ordered his Knight of Zero and co. to wipe out a known anti-Britannia terrorist location killing thousands. "Yeah the Demon Emperor and his White Grim Reaper are the definition of evil. It makes me sick to think the whole world answers to that vile bastard and his pawns."

Euphie tore her eyes from the TV and Orpheus tried not to flinch at the utter horror that was reflected in their depths. "They…he…he killed them all…" Euphie said so soft and in horror that Orpheus barely heard it. "All of those people… why… why would he do that?"

Orpheus looked at her and he frowned deeply. "It's what they do to anyone that opposes the Emperor's new laws and ideals. It didn't start out that violently. People used to think that the new Emperor was a hero. He pulled back all oppressive laws and freed all of the colonies. Yeah there was still some fighting and he was ruthless, but then he dominated the world. Now he uses force whenever he sees the need or feels like it. Did you not know any of this?"

Euphie shook her head slowly. She stood up on shaky legs. "E-excuse me…" she mumbled.

Orpheus watched as she stumbled to the bed and laid down on it. She pulled the blanket over her head and he could still hear her shallow breathing.

Euphie couldn't get the images of destruction out of her head. Suzaku had done that. He had killed so many people. They even showed an image of the Lancelot. She felt so unbelievably ill at the whole thing. A choked sob escaped her. Suzaku was a _monster_ …how did that happen to him? How did Lelouch become so _twisted_? More importantly how the heck was _she_ supposed to stop them?

Orpheus decided that it was probably the correct choice to shut the TV off at this point. That had ended up terribly. He glanced at the plate of food sitting next to him on the couch. She had barely eaten anything. He glanced over the back of the couch towards the bed and took another bite of food as he contemplated what he should be doing at this point. Continue eating? Or go try to console the fragile woman? He wasn't the best at consoling as he didn't have much practice. He continued to eat as he listened to the quiet sobbing slowly dwindling away. His eyes grew slightly in surprise as the girl bolted to a sitting position and pulling the blanket down. She looked at him with a tear streaked determined face.

"Orpheus, you fight against Britannia right?" Euphie asked in a demanding voice.

"Kind of… it just happens to coincide at the moment with my own personal goals."

"Ok. Well I'm going to fight against them too."

Orpheus burst out laughing. "No. I mean look at you. You can't even cook. How the hell are you going to fight against the strongest military power in the world?"

Euphie glared back at him defiantly. "I will learn. This is something that I have to do no matter what. I am going to stop Emperor Lelouch vi Britannia and his Knight Suzaku Kururugi if it the last thing I do."

Orpheus stared at the determination in that delicate face and really who was he to say no to someone else's ambitions. It wasn't his place, but… "Why is it that important to you?"

Euphie let out a defiant puff of air from her nose. "Because I was given a second chance at life and this is what I am going to use it for. Will you help me?"

Orpheus frowned and looked at her again taking in the delicate looking body. "I don't think this is a good idea… You should just… I don't know… try do something safer with your life… Marry a wealthy man or something…"

Euphie stood up and marched over to him. "Here's the deal Orpheus Zevon if you help me to get stronger, I will help you with whatever your goals are to the best of my ability. Be my partner." Euphie held her hand out in front of her towards the reluctant looking blonde.

Orpheus must be going mad to even be contemplating this right now. Seriously what was wrong with him? Ah well, fuck it. She had a connection with V2. She also appeared to know about the Zevons, so maybe she could help him get to his uncle as well. He grabbed the delicate hand and gave her a rueful smile. "Seriously you are so strange… I will help you get stronger. Partners for now." He stood up and pulled her with him by the hand. She stumbled a little bit trying to maneuver around the couch. "We have a shit ton of work to do if we're going to make you terrorist material" he mumbled slightly amused as he booted up the computer and signed into the secure encrypted website. "Welcome to Peace Mark Wolfey."


	6. Electric Tinglings

V2 stared at the disgruntled coral haired princess wandering around outside by herself in Pendragon. Such a brave little thing. He was happy that he decided to come back here to get a better look at Lelouch. This was a rare opportunity indeed. His smirk turned slightly predatory as he hopped down from the ledge he was sitting on. "Hello Princess Marrybell. How is your day going so far?"

The princess had already pulled out a dagger and was pointing it at him. "Who are you?"

He gave a tiny little bow. "I am V2 and I would like it if you could chat with me for a while. I mean you no harm."

Marrybell regarded the boy with the longest blonde hair she had ever seen on a male child. He didn't look very threatening and if he did turn dangerous, she could take him. She lowered the dagger. She would make this quick though. She had been on her way to convince Oldrin to stay with the Glinda Knights and not to abandon their dream of a unified peaceful world. "Ok V2 what do you want to talk about. Make it quick."

V2's smile grew larger. "Come with me. We need a little bit more privacy then being out on a sidewalk."

X

"So Peace Mark is a terrorist organization that is working against Britannia and there are people all over the world that are a part of it?" Euphie asked as she read through the information and different missions.

"That about sums it up."

"Huh interesting. So what exactly are your goals? If I'm going to try to help you, I should know." Euphie turned to face the frowning blonde. She just realized that he was pretty young… and he was actually quite handsome. His eyes were beautiful and he had a little beauty mark by his left eye. He had a strong jaw and overall an aristocratic face. He definitely did look like he belonged to the noble Zevon family. Her eyes trailed lower to the tight white t-shirt he was wearing. He had a slim build, but she could see the muscles under the thin material.

Orpheus watched her quiet assessment of him and a blush appeared on his cheeks. He shifted uncomfortably. Her eyes snapped back up to his face and her hand flew up to her mouth to cover a giggle. Orpheus frowned further. He was not used to being giggled at. What the hell did that even mean?

"Well? What are you trying to do?" She repeated again. Her hand had been removed, but she still had a silly grin on her mouth.

"Have you ever heard of Pluton?" Orpheus asked as he stood up and walked to the couch.

Euphie followed behind him. "I'm afraid I haven't." She picked up her discarded breakfast and started eating again. She was actually pretty darn hungry.

"They were a secret organization that operated under the Britannian Empire to carry out shady and dishonorable missions. It has since been disbanded and its members spread into other Britannian factions. Its leaders used to be V2 and my uncle Oiagura Zevon."

Euphie listened carefully as he talked. When he paused, she looked at him with a mouthful of food and nodded at him to signal her understanding.

"I want to destroy them all. The remaining members, V2 and my uncle" Orpheus finished. The hatred heavy in his tone.

Euphie swallowed. "Why exactly?"

Orpheus sighed and scratched his head. How much did he want to tell her? "They ended up wiping out a whole village I used to live in and they killed the girl I loved" he finally said softly. "I want to avenge her… she was kind and didn't deserve to die like that."

"I'm sorry" Euphie put a sympathetic hand on his arm. "What was her name?"

"Euliya. She was my first friend and the love of my life. I would give anything to have her back."

"I understand that feeling…" Euphie chewed on her lip. She didn't like the fact that he wanted to kill them all, but she didn't feel like right now as the appropriate time to voice it. Especially by the look on his handsome face. They sat in silence for a couple of minutes as Orpheus let his emotions calm down.

The rest of the day was somewhat of a blur for Euphie. She got a brief rundown of the current situations Peace Mark faced. She also finally had a map to look at. Orpheus explained they were currently in a coast city called New Hearth. The military compound he had pulled her from was outside of a city about an hour and a half away called Elstien. Euphie didn't fail to notice the little town of Wendleton where she had stayed a couple of days at that hotel, but after much debate about revealing that to Orpheus, she decided against it. What if he insisted on going there to find V2? Or what if he traced her back to the mental hospital? Nope. She would help him with future information not the past.

"Hey Orpheus…" Euphie started hesitantly as she watched him put a pan of water on the stove for dinner. His green eyes flickered towards her briefly signaling her to continue. "I feel gross. Can I shower?"

Orpheus managed to catch the spoon that he had just dropped before it hit the floor. "Y-yeah of course…" he stuttered awkwardly. The thought of a woman naked in his apartment, even if it was in the shower was a little unusual and unnerved him. He glanced at her and saw the happy grin.

"Cool" she beamed and started walking towards the bathroom before turning to look at him with furrowed brows. "What should I do about the bandages?"

"R-right…ok…" Orpheus swallowed the lump in his throat. "Come sit on the stool and we'll remove the bandages for the shower."

Euphie sat down and hummed quietly to herself as Orpheus worked. Her feet swinging back and forth on the stool. Her sweatshirt completely removed. There was no point to leave on anyways since she was about to shower.

"Ok. All done. Just be careful not to aggravate the area…" Orpheus stood up and went back to the now boiling water. He tried to push the tingling feelings in his fingers out of his mind.

"Thanks again!" Euphie said cheerfully as she scampered to the bathroom. She reached behind with her uninjured arm and unhooked her bra. A pleased sigh escaped her. God did it feel great to let the girls free. She wiggled out of her pants and underwear and waited for the water to be the perfect temperature.

Orpheus continued his intense staring contest with the cooking noodles and tried really hard not to imagine the naked woman in his shower as he listened to the melodic singing. The woman had a good set of pipes if nothing else and her singing voice was pleasant to listen to. He tried to ignore the little static feeling crawling against his skin. He couldn't remember the last time his body reacted so much to someone of the opposite sex. It had been too long. Finally the singing stopped and water shut off. He let out a shaky breath of relief. It didn't last long when the bathroom door opened and Euphie stood in it dressed in only a towel. Water droplets still clinging to her shower flushed and glistening skin. That little static feeling became an electric shock and went straight to his dick. He quickly averted his gaze as his face burst into flames. "W-what are you doing!?" he choked out. "Get dressed!"

Euphie frowned at him. "I don't want to put dirty clothing back on. Do you have something else I could wear?"

Orpheus groaned and stormed to his dresser of clothes. He grabbed a pair of shorts, a tank top and a new zip up hoodie. He stared at anything but her as he walked over. His hand extended all the way with the clothing in front of him. "Here. Don't put the sweatshirt on right away. We'll bandage your shoulder first." His eyes darted back to as she grabbed the clothing.

"Thank you" she said sweetly and retreated back into the bathroom.

It took a moment for Orpheus to collect himself, but when froth boiled over the top of the pan and hissed, he snapped back to himself. He hurried back to his cooking. The noodles were done, so he drained them and then added the cooked broccoli and jar of alfredo sauce. By the time the plates were dished up, Euphie was stepping back into the kitchen. Orpheus tried to avoid looking at the little points sticking up underneath the thin material of the tank top. He tried to keep his hands from shaking as he re-bandaged her wounds.

"Are you alright?" Euphie asked with concern. She had been watching him closely. He was flushed, had shifty eyes and his hands were shaking.

"Fine! I'm fine" Orpheus responded a little too quickly and loud. Euphie frowned at him and he frowned back. "You can put the sweatshirt now…" he mumbled. He sat down in front of his food and started eating without saying anything further.

Euphie sighed and ate her food in silence as well. They finished eating in silence. Washed and dried the dishes in silence. Sat down on the couch in silence and watched some news. Euphie kept stealing glances at the man next to her, but he was being particularly tight lipped and frowny. She stole another glance and they made eye contact. He looked away first. "Ok mister. Something is clearly bothering you. Spill" Euphie demanded and glared at him.

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it." Orpheus flicked the TV off. "Let's go to bed. We have a lot of work to do starting tomorrow."

Euphie stood up and put her hands on her hips as she stared at him defiantly. "It is not nothing and I am not going anywhere until you tell me."

Orpheus felt the electric shock run through him again at the defiant stare in those large eyes. He groaned and let his head fall back on the couch. What the hell was this? No. He could not be attracted to this woman. He loved Euliya and he would not betray her by…by wanting to throw down this defiant yet delicate curvy woman and explore her body. "Can you please just let it go?" he asked in a defeated voice.

Euphie chewed on her lip in conflicted thoughts. "Alright fine…" she said in defeat as well and walked past him on her way to the bed. Orpheus tried not to look at the way her hips swayed as she walked, but he did and he couldn't look away. "Good night then…" she mumbled from somewhere behind him.

He didn't turn around to look. "Night…" he mumbled back and flopped down on the couch. He looked up at the ceiling and frowned. He would not go down this road. It wouldn't be fair to Euliya and really he didn't know anything really about this woman…well except that she was strange, beautiful and when she got all defiant it left his body buzzing. He repeated no to himself as he fell asleep.

X

Orpheus woke up the next day with a sticky wet mess in his pants and he frowned deeply. What the actual fuck? No. This was not happening. He sat up and glanced at the woman sleeping in his bed who was thankfully still sleeping. He quickly escaped to the bathroom and yanked off his soiled clothing depositing them in the dirty laundry hamper. He removed the bandage from his leg and the stepped into the shower. He left the temp on the cooler side as he cleaned himself. He growled in frustration as he started getting hard under his own touch. This could not be happening…

He wrapped the towel around him and pulled out a new pair of shorts and sleeveless t-shirt. Once he was dressed, he made himself a cup of coffee and sat at the stool in front of the counter. His eyes lingered on the sleeping form in his bed who had just let out a little whimper sound and fidgeted under the sheet. When his phone went off, he almost fell off the stool in surprise. He quickly answered it.

"Yeah" he said into the phone.

"Oz dear you don't need to greet me so coldly" came the feminine purr on the other side.

"What do you want Miss X?" Orpheus sighed into the phone not really in the mood for games.

"I just wanted to let you know I have some information on you little blonde haired devil."

Orpheus sat straighter and focused more on the woman on the phone. "Yeah what's that?"

"I'm in your neck of the woods. Come get a cup of coffee with me and I'll let you know all about it."

"Fine. Name the place and time" Orpheus stood up grabbing different clothes. If he was going out in public, he should dress in real clothes. He disconnected the call as he slipped into the tight black slacks. His eyes lingered on the hamper in the bathroom and an idea struck him. He opened it and located Euphie's clothing. He tried not to focus on the fact that he was touching her intimate clothing as he wrote down the sizes.

He left a note on the counter and locked the door behind him. When he got to the little café Miss X specified, his eyes scanned for the head of white hair. He sat down in the chair in front of her and folded his arms across his chest. She leaned on the table and rested her chin in the palm of her hand.

"Morning Oz. You are looking handsome as ever."

Orpheus grunted. "Spill."

"The boy with long blonde hair was spotted in West Town outside of Pendragon." Miss X stirred her latte and took a sip. She watched as those beautiful gem green eyes absorbed the information.

"How long ago?" Orpheus asked as his mind raced on how he would get there and if he should take Euphie with.

"One day ago." She smiled at him sweetly. He really was a handsome young man. "I can take care of cleaning out your apartment when you leave, so you can head out right away."

Orpheus nodded slowly. "Ok… Hey can you do me a favor? I'll pay you of course."

Miss X's gray eyes sparked with curiosity. "And what would that be?"

"I need you to go shopping for me for some woman's clothing." He pulled out the sizes that he had written down earlier.

Miss X skimmed the paper noting the impressive cup size for the bra. Her delicate eyebrows raised with curiosity. She looked wickedly at the blushing man across from her. "What's this all about?" she purred as she waved the little slip of paper around.

"I've recently taken in a new partner and she is lacking in the clothing department."

"Wouldn't she prefer to do her own shopping?"

"She's a little under the weather at the moment."

"Can I meet her?" She was so extremely curious about this new development. Orpheus shacking up with some busty woman. Now that was something that she had never expected to happen.

Orpheus frowned. "Not right now…" he grumbled.

Miss X glanced at the paper again. "There's no shirt size?"

Orpheus face turned a shade darker. "Her shirt was unfortunately thrown away before we decided to team up…" he mumbled.

Miss X's mouth turned into a devious smirk. "Oh really? How interesting… Fine I'll go shopping for you. Is she on the slimmer side or is there some extra fluff?

"Slim…" he mumbled.

"Meet me back here around 1?"

"That works. Here's some money. Make sure to get clothes that she can exercise in and some for going around town…and thank you…" Orpheus avoided eye contact.

"Age?"

"What?" Orpheus gave her a confused look.

"How old is she?"

"I don't know late teens early 20s. Somewhere around there. Why?"

"It will affect the clothes I buy. Is she pretty?" Miss X had to suppress the giggle that almost escaped as the fading blush came back and he glared at her.

"That has nothing to do with anything" he grumbled at her. "I'm leaving. Call me if you have questions…"

She nodded and watched him walk out of the café. He missed the mischievous glint in the woman's eyes. If she needed to go shopping, she would make sure it was interesting to herself and to Orpheus in the long run. He didn't really specify that they needed to be conservative. Also, it was about time that he got laid and he most definitely found this woman pretty if that furious blush had anything to say about it.

X

"Uh… Orpheus…" Euphie called from the bathroom looking at the clothes in the bags.

Orpheus walked over to the door. "Yeah what?"

"Who bought these clothes again?" Euphie asked with some trepidation in her voice.

"Another member of Peace Mark. Why what's wrong with them?"

"Nothing per say…" Euphie mumbled as she held up a pair of see through baby blue lacey panties that had pink ribbons that crossed over the hip area. In her other hand was a booty short looking red pair with a little devil bedazzled on it. The bra's laying on the floor were just as provocative. Black silky push up. White lace with angel wing design. "They're just not that practical…"

"Well I don't know… Just throw on something right now that you can sleep in. We have stuff to talk about" Orpheus said in frustration. Really woman were such a handful.

Euphie shrugged and slipped on a black silky thong with a pair of skin tight exercise leggings that ended at her knees. They were black with an aqua colored swirling design. She then pulled on an exercise top that had a built in sports bra. The front was covered by a loose fabric and wrapped around to the back leaving her actual back mostly exposed. She looked at herself in the mirror and shrugged. Good enough.

Orpheus looked at her when she exited and quickly averted his eyes from the low cut top and skin tight leggings. Crap. Maybe having Miss X go shopping was a horrible idea.


	7. Come with Me

Euphie squeaked when the duffle bag was thrown at her. "Pack your new clothes in the bag. We are leaving tomorrow for West Town" Orpheus said blandly as he packed his own bags. One with clothes. One with an assortment of weapons. One with other necessary tools.

Euphie's eyes went wide. "West Town…? As in right outside of Pendragon?"

"That would be the one." Orpheus continued to pack the essentials. He wasn't worried about what he left behind. Miss X or one of her colleagues would come clean the place out tomorrow of anything left and wipe the computer. He would then contact another Peace Mark member when they arrived in West Town to set him up with a new apartment.

Euphie was filled with a sense of fear. To go that close to Pendragon was risky. What if someone recognized her? Yeah it was still two hours away from the Capital, but still. It was too close for her comfort. She fidgeted miserably with the strap of the duffle bag. "Why are we going there?"

Orpheus sighed and stood up straight looking at her. He raised an eyebrow at her very unpacked bag. "V2 was last seen there."

"Oh."

"Look are you coming with or not?" Orpheus asked quite annoyed at this point.

Euphie averted her gaze for a second. Where else could she go? Also, she promised she'd help him if he helped her get stronger. If she didn't go with him, that whole partnership went right out the window… Maybe she would run into Suzaku and then she'd be able to end this sooner… that thought terrified her. She took a couple of deep breaths and looked back at Orpheus who was still watching her. "Yeah…" she mumbled and went to work shoving the risky clothing into the bag. She kept out an outfit to wear tomorrow. Leggings and a sports bra shirt were indecent to wear out in public after all.

The next morning when Orpheus worked on bandaging the wounds, he didn't wrap the bandage all of the way around her head. Instead, he just left the affected area covered. Euphie changed clothes into a tight pair of dark blue jeggings, a silver corset tank that only showed a tiny bit of midriff and the fake leather jacket. Orpheus tried to avoid staring at the whole outfit. He really should have specified that the clothes should be respectable…instead of so _showy_.

They loaded up the SUV car he was using and started on their way. The journey took a little over two days of nonstop driving taking turns. Orpheus was a little skeptical at first letting her drive, but quickly fell asleep in spite of himself. Euphie listened nervously as Orpheus argued with a member of Peace Mark about meeting up to discuss a temporary apartment. It didn't seem to go that well, but she kept her mouth shut and continued her turn driving until Orpheus made them switch.

X

Euphie looked at the flashing sign as they pulled up to a building in West Town. The sign flickered Wicked Witches and the whole building seemed exceptionally flashy. She glanced at Orpheus who was frowning deeply.

"I'm sorry about having to bring you here, but the damn woman wouldn't meet me anywhere else except where she works…" Orpheus glanced at her. "I would prefer to leave you in the car, but I'm not too comfortable with that based on the clientele of this establishment. You're going to have to come with."

"O-ok" Euphie answered. She really had no idea what this place was or why Orpheus wasn't comfortable with the clientele.

Orpheus let out one last disgruntled sigh. "Alright let's get this done with." He climbed out of the car and Euphie did the same. "Here hold onto my hand, so we don't get separated…" he mumbled as he grasped her smaller delicate hand.

Euphie let herself be led into the building and her eyes almost popped right out of her skull. What kind of place was _this_!? Women were dancing in slow sensual motions on raised stages with like nothing on…at all… Euphie watched with wide eyes as one of the girls grabbed a bar and flipped upside down spreading her legs. And those shoes… How could they possibly dance in those shoes let alone walk in them… Euphie wasn't sure what to think about the whole thing, but she had to admit that the erotic dancing was kind of amazing. Especially how graceful they looked twirling on those poles. Like wow those women had skills.

"Sit" Orpheus pulled her down next to him at a little booth. He felt uncomfortable as all hell. He hated these establishments because they made him feel… well like a man he supposed. He tried to avoid looking at the fairly naked women and glanced at the woman next to him that was looking around with wide eyes. He let out a little chuckle at her expression.

Euphie glanced at the man next to her when she heard him chuckle. "What is this place?" Euphie asked in a quiet awed voice.

Orpheus gave her a confused expression. "It's a strip club… Have you never heard of them before?"

Euphie shook her head and watched a blonde twirling on the bar again. Her body arched beautifully and her outfit fanned out around her. "I didn't know places like this existed…" Euphie glanced at the clientele of the place. It was primarily made up of men that wasn't all that surprising. She watched as a busty woman with light purple hair swayed up to them.

The woman scooted in next to Orpheus and trailed her fingers against his leg. Orpheus shifted uncomfortably and avoided looking at her. "I haven't seen you two in here before. Is this your first time?" the woman cooed at them. Her pink eyes darting to Euphie and she smiled sweetly.

"We are here to talk to Elfie" Orpheus said in a strained voice.

The woman looked them over one more time before giving a sigh. "What a shame. You two are so adorable…I'll go fetch her for you."

The women swayed away and Orpheus let out the breath he had been holding in. He glared at Euphie when he heard her giggle at him. It is not funny. He didn't like people looking at him like some piece of meat for sale and yes, he did see the irony in his sentiment. They sat in silence as they waited. Euphie watched the interactions of the place absorbing this strange environment.

Eventually a slim not all that busty dark green haired woman slid up to them. Her hair was in low pigtails and she had fake elf ears on. Her lime green eyes scanned over them. "Oz I presume?" she said in a silky snake voice.

"Yeah" Orpheus mumbled and looked at her. Just her face though. Not the lacey black getup. Euphie on the other hand looked the woman over curiously. Elfie smiled at her with a sly smile.

"Follow me" she started to walk away. Orpheus stood up and held his hand out to Euphie. She took and noted the sweaty palms. They followed the sly woman into a curtained off alcove. Orpheus sat down on the cushioned bench and Euphie sat down next to him. The woman sat next to him and ran her fingers down his face.

"We are just here about the apartment. Nothing else, so you don't need to use any of your…charms on us" Orpheus said with a strained voice. He gently removed the woman's hands from his body.

"Are you sure about that? For a little extra I can throw in a little fun for you and your little friend." Lime green eyes darted to Euphie. The green haired woman crawled over Orpheus lap and straddled Euphie. "She looks like she needs some fun…"

Euphie's eyes went wide as the woman rubbed against her and hovered her face close to hers. She could feel the warm breath caress her face as the woman's silky smooth fingers trailed down her cheek. She looked at Orpheus with wide startled eyes.

Orpheus had avoided looking at the almost naked woman crawling over him, but he still _felt_ it. He was not ok with it at all. Nope. He just wanted to pay for the apartment and leave. His eyes darted to the women next to him and when those large lavender eyes looked at him, he felt a familiar jolt run through him going southward. Fuck. Watching the seductress violating the naïve innocent woman he was kind of attracted to was too much stimulation and his body was definitely reacting.

"C-can we just get this over with?" he asked quickly in slight panic. His voice slightly squeaky.

Elfie sighed and crawled off of the pretty blue haired woman. "Fine. You're really no fun are you?" She dug in her little black purse and handed over a key with an address tag attached. She took the money from Orpheus in exchange. She leaned down and kissed Euphie on the cheek. "If you ever need a job cutie, you know where to find me." With that the woman left.

Orpheus took a couple deep breaths collecting himself. "Let's go." This time he didn't touch Euphie to avoid the electric tingling from coming back. As of right now it was a dull lingering. He made sure to walk next to her though. When they get to the car he let out the breath in his lungs and rested his head on the steering wheel.

"Well that was something…" Euphie mumbled quietly and then giggled. "I bet they make some good money in that place. At least I hope so if they dry hump everyone." The giggles turned into full blown laughing.

Orpheus looked at her with wide confused eyes. Really? That was how she was reacting to this whole experience. What was up with this woman? He expected her to be thoroughly repulsed, but nope. It appears that she is thoroughly entertained. "I seriously don't understand you…" Orpheus mumbled and turned the car on. He plugged the address into the GPS and started driving.

X

When they finished unpacking into the little apartment, Euphie flopped down on the couch. "I'm so extremely exhausted."

"Yeah. We should probably go to sleep. Tomorrow we'll start our search for V2." Orpheus sat down on the plush chair next to the couch. He glanced over the form of the woman on the couch. His eyes landed on her bandage. "How is your shoulder?"

"Hmm…? Oh a little sore I suppose, but my whole back is sore from sleeping in a car for the last couple of days…" Euphie mumbled sleepily.

"You probably have knots…" Orpheus had no idea where the next sentence came from, but it still fell from his mouth. "I can rub them out if you want…"

Euphie sat up and gave him a happy smile. "Really? That would be great. They kind of really suck."

"Y-yeah no problem." Orpheus situated himself behind her on the couch and with shaky hands he reached out to start rubbing the delicate back. Euphie's shoulder blades moved slightly at his touch. The skin was silky smooth under his hands. His thumbs skimmed against the black straps on the bra and shirt. He ignored the buzzing feeling in his fingers as he rubbed her neck and trailed his thumbs down on either side of her spine. A pleased little moan escaped hers and Orpheus shifted closer. His breathing getting heavier as his fingers worked on rubbing around her hips pushing slightly underneath the tight corset tank.

"That feels good" Euphie said in a quiet breathy voice.

"Y-yeah…?" Orpheus said in a low voice as his hands continued to rub.

Euphie's head drooped forward and she hummed out her agreement. She shifted slightly under his touch and the little electric buzzing of his fingers trailed through his body. Little please moans fell from her lips and Orpheus felt his heart beat hammering inside of him.

Orpheus's fingers dipped slightly into the top of the tight jeggings. "H-hey Wolfey…?"

"Hmm…?"

"Have you ever slept with someone before…?" Orpheus's fingers skimmed firmly over bony hips.

Euphie froze and then quickly stood up. Her face flushed bright red and she looked at the bright red face of the blonde man still sitting on the couch…whose pants weren't exactly sitting right anymore. "I-I…I'm going to bed" Euphie said hastily and scurried to the attached bedroom burying herself under the blankets in record speed.

Orpheus groaned and flopped back on the couch. What kind of idiot was he? What the hell was he even thinking? He told himself that he wouldn't go here, but… but he wanted to so fucking much. God was he hard right now… It was humiliating. He hadn't been with a woman for years and he had to admit to himself that he was lonely. Like really fucking lonely. He glanced at the closed bedroom door and frowned. He stood up after a moment and walked to the bathroom for a shower.

He turned the water on warm and slipped underneath the cascading water. His hand trailed down his body and he let out a shaky breath as he touched himself. He stroked slowly and leaned against the wall as he picked up speed. Fuck. He didn't even remember what it felt like to be with a woman. He let out a little groan as he pictured large lavender eyes. He could still feel the silky smooth pale skin on his fingers. He could still hear those slightly breathless little moans as he touched her. He wondered what the rest of her felt like. His toes curled as his thumb slid against his slit. Fuck. He groaned quietly as he released his pent up frustration on the shower floor.

Euphie's body shook under the blanket and she was breathing quickly. He…he had touched her… and she had let him… No one should touch her except for Suzaku. She belonged to him like he belonged to her. He was her heart. How could she let this happen? How was she ever going to look Orpheus in the eye anymore? After… after seeing that he most certainly had wanted to do very inappropriate things with her tonight… Little tears escaped her eyes. She didn't want to do that with anyone else besides Suzaku…

X

Orpheus calmly cooked breakfast the next day staring quietly at the bedroom door. He most certainly pushed a boundary that shouldn't have been pushed last night. He had no idea of her sexual experiences past rescuing her from a potential rape. What the hell had he been thinking? He was pulled out of his self-scolding when the door slowly opened.

Euphie crept out slowly. Her dark blue hair sticking up awkwardly from sleeping. "Ah…hey…" she mumbled awkwardly as her pale cheeks dusted pink.

"Yeah hey…so umm about last night I'm sorry" Orpheus started and flipped a pancake. "I wasn't in the best state of mind after being in that place… It won't happen again."

"O-ok…" Euphie had a change of clothes in her hand and headed to the bathroom. "I'm going to go shower."

"Right." Orpheus glanced at her as she walked by. His eyes drawn to the curves of her hips. He didn't say anything and his eyes flickered back to the cooking food.

By the time the plates were dished up. Euphie was back. His eyes landed over her unbandaged wounds. They ate in silence. Eyes flickering to each other and then away again. "Umm…" Euphie started and then took a shaky breath. "I have been with someone before and my heart belongs to him, so…umm… I can't give you…we can't…well you know…" Euphie chewed on her lip and stared at her plate awkwardly.

"That's fine… I really didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable" Orpheus responded quietly and took another bite of food. "So where is this man? Shouldn't you be with him right now?" Orpheus said after a while.

Euphie felt her chest tighten. "I can't…" she whispered. "We've both changed and I don't know who he is anymore."

"Hmm… Want to talk about it?"

Euphie shook her head no.

"Alright. If you ever want to talk about it, you can. I'll listen. Anyways finish eating and then we'll head out" Orpheus stood up and washed his plate in the sink. Euphie watched from the table. She watched as the long blonde hair swayed and his muscles flexed as he moved. Her eyes darted back to her plate of food.


	8. No Steps Forward

Lelouch frowned heavily as his half-sister left the room. His violet eyes locked with Suzaku's emerald green. "I am not pleased with this development" he said sourly.

"I whole heartedly agree with you my majesty" Suzaku said blandly and looked back at the door.

"We can't let her run around with that power, but I would prefer not to half to kill another sibling. It's getting quite old" Lelouch drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair.

"Then let someone else do it" CC said in a bored voice and ran her thin fingers through his black silky hair.

Lelouch glanced at her and frowned again. "Like who? She had such potential to be a protector of Nunnally too…"

"What about the terrorist factions?" Suzaku added from the side. "We'll just send her somewhere and let the information leak. They either get to her or she will get to them. Either way it will benefit it us."

Lelouch glanced back at his Knight of Zero. "Fine. We'll let it play itself out for now. We also need to do something about V2…" Lelouch trailed off as stood up. He laced his fingers with CC pulling her behind him. "I'm going to go take a nap while I can still get some sleep."

X

Orpheus looked at Euphie as she came back out of the bedroom dressed. He glanced at her face that still had a bruise and the bandage on her forehead. What the hell was he thinking? He couldn't believe he was bringing her out in public like this. It was either an extremely horrible idea and will draw unwanted attention or it was a freaking wonderful idea and she'll lure V2 out. He groaned and scratched the back of his head. "I don't know if you should come with me…" he said awkwardly.

Euphie put her hands on her hips and gave him a little defiant glare. "Why is that?"

"Because you look like you had the shit beat out of you."

Euphie's lips formed into a little thoughtful pout. "But I kind of did."

Orpheus groaned and grabbed a light jacket stashing a dagger in it. "Never mind. Let's go."

X

They walked around most of the day with no headway. The next day was going roughly the same up until a blonde woman darted out of an alley and froze when she saw them. "Orpheus?" her mint green eyes went wide with surprise.

"Oldrin?" Orpheus frowned at the sight of his sister.

Oldrin glanced over her shoulder and then quickly grabbed his hand and took off running. Euphie was lost for a moment, but when she saw the Britannia military outfit, she took off running after them. Orpheus looked behind him frantically. When he saw her he reached out and grasped her hand. Oldrin pulled them down another alley and Orpheus pulled her to a stop. "What the hell?" he growled out.

Oldrin took deep breaths. "Marrybell snapped. I need to get out of here before she finds me." Oldrin's eyes darted frantically around them. Her eyes landed on Euphie and she frowned thoughtfully. Euphie averted her gaze and shifted awkwardly hoping the Glinda Knight wouldn't recognize her.

Orpheus let out a frustrated. "Ok. Come with me. Wolfey let's go." Orpheus gripped her hand and pulled her along again. Euphie followed obediently.

Somehow they managed to elude the pursuit and Orpheus gestured his sister into the apartment. After everyone caught their breath Orpheus glared at his female mirrored version. "Ok spill it."

Oldrin glared right back. "Marrybell obtained a Geass power and she's nuts. She thinks that the absolute control that the Emperor is forcing on the world is the correct answer. Her Geass power allows her to take control of a person and make them her puppet. I don't know if it has a limit like yours I didn't stick around long enough to find out. She used it on Lockhart and I had no choice but to eliminate him to escape." Oldrin finally stopped her ranting and took a breath as she flopped down on the couch. "Go ahead say it. Say you told me so. Britannia is the definition of an evil oppressive government blah blah blah."

Euphie glanced at Orpheus. "You have a Geass power? You never mentioned that."

Orpheus glanced at her before glancing away. "I didn't have a choice. The contract was forced on me when I was a child by V2."

"What is it?" Euphie asked as she tilted her head to the side. A piece of blue hair fell across her face.

Before Orpheus realized he was doing it, he reached over and pushed the hair out of her face. Euphie froze and looked at him in surprise. He quickly pulled his hand back and averted his gaze. "I'll tell you sometime…" he mumbled.

Oldrin watched the whole little scene play out with curiosity. Finding a pretty woman with Orpheus was different. Especially the way he looked at her with a slight blush on his sun kissed face. She studied the girl and her brows furrowed. "Do I know you?"

Euphie's eyes darted to her in panic. "W-what? No! Of course n-not" Euphie stammered out.

Orpheus watched as her pale cheeks dusted pink. He frowned didn't she say that she had a sister that knew Oldrin? Also, she had seemed awfully familiar with the Zevon familiar when they had met.

"Hmm… You look familiar though…" Oldrin shrugged. "I'm Oldrin Zevon. I'm Orpheus's twin sister if you haven't figured it out yet."

"I'm L-lina Wolfhart" Euphie stammered out again. She met Orpheus questioning gaze and looked away in response fidgeting nervously. "Umm…I'll give you two time to catch up." Euphie hurried to the bedroom. When the door was shut she leaned against it letting out the air in her lungs. Her hand pressed against her chest trying to get it to calm down.

Oldrin raised her blonde eyebrows at her brother in question. "What's all that about?" She gestured towards the bedroom door.

Orpheus looked away and shrugged. "I don't know. She's weird."

"Are you two…well you know, an item?" Oldrin watched the rising embarrassment on her brother's face.

"N-no! I just met her and she's...well she's… it's not like that" He finished awkwardly. His face felt like it was sitting in an oven.

Oldrin smiled wickedly at her brother. "You want her…" Oldrin purred out smoothly and waggled her eyebrows.

"Shut up! Or you can find a different place to hideout" Orpheus said sourly with an irritated huff. "It doesn't matter, she made it clear that she's already attached to some guy."

"But you're letting her shack up with you? Why?" Oldrin cleaned her nails.

"I don't know… She seems lost and needs someone to look out for her. I promised I would help her to get stronger, so she can defend herself." Orpheus sat down exhausted in the plush chair.

"She does look like she's been through some shit. That's a pretty shiner on her face."

"She also wants to stop the Emperor and agreed to help me with my goals."

"I never pictured you as the big softy type, but I suppose if it involves a pretty woman, even you aren't immune."

Orpheus refused to comment further and just brooded in his chair all moody like. "What are going to do?" he asked finally.

"Get the hell out of this country and probably join Peace Mark as you've suggested so many times."

Orpheus made a hmm noise. He stood up and knocked on the bedroom door. Euphie squeaked from under the blankets and hurried to the door. She glanced out. "I'm going to head back out and look for V2. With Britannian forces out looking for Oldrin, I want you to stay here."

Euphie opened the door and fully stepped out. "Won't it be dangerous for you to go out? You two look a lot alike" Euphie said with concern.

"I'll be fine. My Geass allows me to appear as other people, so I'll be in disguise."

"Oh" Euphie chewed on her lip and then looked back at him. "Be careful ok?"

"I always am." Orpheus chose to ignore the snort of disbelief from his sister. "I'll be back by dinner time."

Euphie watched him leave and then looked at the blonde woman that was studying her again with narrowed eyes. "W-well I'm going to-"

"Come chat with me for a while." Oldrin smiled sweetly at her as she cut her off. Euphie swallowed as she walked over to the chair and sat down awkwardly.

X

Oldrin left in the middle of the night and Euphie had to admit that she was relieved. The blonde woman had interrogated her all afternoon and Euphie was exhausted by the end of it after dodging around so many pointed questions. Orpheus frowned as the door closed. He wasn't entirely sure what his sister meant when she told him to be careful of Euphie. In his opinion the blue haired woman wouldn't be able to hurt a fly at this point. Yeah she was a little shifty and guarded, but it wasn't like he didn't have a past to hide as well.

The rest of the week led to dead end after dead end. Mostly because they weren't able to run around freely with Britannian dogs sniffing around. Orpheus could only use his Geass every so often and it had a time limit. He also noticed that Euphie was unusual anxious being out in the open and whenever she saw a Britannian soldier he swore he could feel tremors radiating off of her. He chalked it up to her recent brush in with the officers. It made him feel guilty dragging her around though, so he left her at the apartment more often than not.

In the evenings he taught her how to sharpen the blades of the daggers and basic self-defense techniques. Because her shoulder was still injured, they didn't actually put any of them to the real test and slowly just moved through the motions. Orpheus ignored any stirring feelings inside of him when he would put the restraining holds on her. Like when he grabbed slim wrists or wrapped his arms around the slim soft body.

Euphie tried to soak up as much information as she could about weapons and different defense stances. She was getting better at ignoring the awkwardness of the touching and instead focused on what he was saying and telling her to do. It was easy and they fell into a comfortable routine.

By the end of the second week Orpheus was beyond frustrated. The trail for V2 had gone cold and he had even risked sneaking into Pendragon. Not that it did him any good. He was grumpily eating dinner one night contemplating what they should do next. It wasn't like he really wanted to linger near the god forsaken capital.

Euphie stared at him thoughtfully. "I'm sorry."

Orpheus looked at her across the table. "Why? You didn't do anything."

Euphie frowned. "I know. That's why I'm saying sorry. I don't want to be a burden to you and I promised to help, but all I've done is get in the way."

"You're fine." Orpheus took another bite of food. "I'm going to go back into Pendragon one more time and if I don't find any new leads, we are leaving this place."

Euphie nodded her understanding. "Can I come with? I want to help" she asked hesitantly. She held the surprised green eyes as they studied her. Orpheus nodded and resumed eating.

X

Euphie was grateful that Orpheus had lent her some money to buy some decent clothing. Not that the other clothes weren't fine, but she didn't want to draw attention to herself walking through Pendragon. She glanced around nervously as she tried to appear calm. The world tinted slightly behind the sunglasses. What had she been thinking? She wasn't ready for this. Which instantly became clear as the Knight of Zero surrounded by other soldiers strode by.

Euphie's entire being froze as she watched the slim toned body dressed in black pass on the street. It was like the entire world slowed to a crawl as she absorbed the emerald eyes devoid of any emotions. The sun danced softly on the tan skin and his brown haired swayed with the slight breeze. A slow buzzing started in her brain as it became deprived of oxygen. She swayed slightly where she stood and when those emerald eyes flicked her way momentarily the world blurred.

Euphie snapped back to reality after a moment. She blinked a couple of times as she came to. She became aware of mint green eyes looking at her with concern. Her body was wrapped in muscular arms and pressed gently against a muscular chest. She took in a deep breath quickly and pushed away. "W-what…" Her eyes darted to where she had last seen Suzaku, but he was no longer anywhere to be seen.

"Wolfey are you ok? You practically just passed out" Orpheus asked in concern. His hands hovered around her, but he didn't touch. Her lavender eyes were flicking around in panic and he didn't want to startle her.

A choked sob escaped Euphie and she cradled herself with her arms. Suzaku had been right there! She could've gone to him. She could have touched him and held him. She could have talked to him. She could… She fell to her knees and rocked slowly. Why? Why didn't she go to him? He was a part of her soul and she had let him slip through her fingers…

Orpheus noticed the people staring at them. "Alright come on Wolfey, I'm taking you home."

Euphie let another choked sob out. Home. Home. She wanted to go home. Her home was in the palace surrounded by her family. Her home was wherever Suzaku was. Her home was lost to her because Lelouch had stolen it from her. She held herself tighter.

Orpheus slowly knelt down next to her. "Wolfey…hey look at me…" he said soothingly and gently grasped her chin making her look into his eyes. "It's ok…shhh… we have to leave now before we draw more attention to ourselves… please?"

Euphie blinked and stared into the handsome face and kind green eyes. She nodded meekly and allowed him to pull her to her feet. She allowed him to wrap an arm around her waist protectively and guide her through the crowds.

X

Suzaku frowned at the memory as he climbed the steps to the Emperor's throne room. He had no idea why he had felt drawn to look to his right as they walked through the street. He had no idea why his eyes had been drawn to the dark blue haired woman in the background. Her hair contrasted sharply with her porcelain skin and delicate face. Why did he feel like he should know that woman? He had been tempted to go and talk to her to ease his curiosity, but then she fainted and some blonde man had caught her. Suzaku had let the brief moment go, but it was still nagging at the back of his mind.

He mentally shrugged and pushed it completely out of his thoughts. Lelouch gave him a fond smile as he walked in. CC climbed off of Lelouch's lap and exited the room.

"How's everything with Marrybell?" Lelouch asked indifferently.

"She just left with her Glinda Knights about 20 minutes ago."

"Hmm… I guess we'll see what happens…" Lelouch pursed his lips thoughtfully.

"How's the hunt for V2?" Suzaku asked as dropped to sit on the steps next to Lelouch.

"Going nowhere… I would expect nothing less from my uncle… but he can't evade me forever."

X

Euphie sat down on the couch and stared at the white wall in front of her. Orpheus sat down in the arm chair and studied the vacant stare. Eventually he couldn't take it anymore. "Wolfey I think it's about time you explain what that was all about?" Lavender eyes darted to him before focusing back on the wall.

"Suzaku…" she mumbled quietly.

Orpheus frowned. What? He didn't understand. First, Suzaku what? Second, why the hell was she referring the Grim Reaper by first name? "Care to elaborate?"

"He's…I…My heart hurts…It is missing pieces that he took from me…" she mumbled again as tears started trailing down her pale cheeks.

"Oh" Orpheus answered dumbly. It took a moment for the words to sink in and then he was staring at her with wide eyes. She was in love with the Grim Reaper of Britannia. What the actual fuck!? How the hell does that even happen!?


	9. Being Friends

"How!?" Orpheus choked out. "How could you possibly fall in love with that demon?"

Euphie sobbed. "Because he wasn't always like that!" she cried back. "He was kind and loyal and wonderful. He would never have done what he is doing now. I don't know what happened to him…" She buried her face into her hands.

Orpheus watched her curl in on herself sobbing and he scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Well shit…" he mumbled. He moved towards the couch and pulled her into a hug. His hand gently petted down the soft messy blue hair as Euphie buried her face against his chest and clung to the front of his shirt. His mind running wild with so many thoughts and questions. One being that running around with the Grim Reaper's past lover was probably not in his best interest unless he wanted a jealous ex-boyfriend trying to kill him.

Eventually Euphie's tears dried up and she just rested her head against his shoulder exhaustedly. She felt like every last drop of her soul had been sucked dry and she had no drive to move from where she was currently sitting on Orpheus's lap. "Sorry…" she mumbled awkwardly instead.

"It's fine…" Orpheus mumbled as he continued to run his fingers through her short hair. "Can I ask what happened between you two?"

Euphie chewed her lip thoughtfully. "I wouldn't even know how to explain it… It's just like I woke up one day and the world had moved on without me. He was all of sudden someone I didn't know anymore…"

"Well do you want to know who he is now?" Orpheus's hand paused and then he looked to the side awkwardly. "I mean… do you want to talk to him or go find him?"

"I don't know… I'm terrified what I would find or what would happen…" Euphie whispered. Would he still be the same on the inside? Would he be disgusted by her and what she had done at the SAZ? There were too many unknown factors and she wasn't ready. A couple of minutes passed in silence before Euphie raised her head to look into the mint green eyes of the only person that she could call her friend. "I just know that I have to stop him. It's what I've decided to do and when I do, maybe then I'll ask him what happened. Will you still help me?"

Really Orpheus couldn't find the power to say no to the beautiful pale face marred with puffy redness. As he nodded his head, he had a feeling that he would strongly regret this one day. "Yeah…" he mumbled as he once again started to pet her head. He willed himself not to blush at the wide bright smile she gave him before she cuddled up against him again. Yep. He would regret this.

X

Suzaku wasn't entirely sure how Gino and Luciano convinced him to join them. The arguments about enjoying life and having adventures didn't apply to him anymore. His life was an unbearable sick joke these days. He would have continued to refuse if Lelouch hadn't pretty much forced him out the door. Not that the scrawny Emperor could actually out muscle him, but he would never raise a hand against the pale black haired man again. He was past that particular grudge. They had a common goal now.

Also, it's not like anybody or any establishment relished in having a mass murderer in their presence. He was out of place and out of his comfort zone being around _normal_ people. It very much showed. Especially in this establishment that they had drug him to. The moment they entered the parking lot his skin crawled and tightness grew in his chest. He should have turned his bike around and driven back to his tiny empty room. It only got worse the moment they opened the doors.

Suzaku didn't find enjoyment looking at fairly naked women move around on the stages or fluttering around him. Women made him uncomfortable and he shifted uncomfortably on his stool having an intense staring contest with the drink in front of him. It's not like he wasn't interested in women anymore. It was just that none of them could fill the aching hole left in his chest. The one that was currently throbbing and shooting sharp pain through him. These women didn't have bubble gum pink hair, dark lavender eyes, soft pale skin and the kindest purest heart that he had ever met. A heart that made all of his pain and anxiety melt into nothing. That woman, the woman he loved with his entire being, didn't exist anymore. Just another part of the sick joke that was his life.

Gino and Luciano had quickly gone off for their own little bit of fun which meant Suzaku was forced to sit here by himself fidgeting. He really should just leave this place. It brought too much pain to him. Also, despite public opinion, he didn't like causing people pain or being rude. He felt extremely rude turning down all the scantily clad women that sauntered his way. He avoided their eyes, but he could still feel the disappointment and frustration. They were probably irritated that he was there for a free show and not willing to fork out any money, but really he wasn't there for the show at all. He was forced here and the moment one of his stupid companions came back, he would bid them farewell and get the fuck out of here.

"I've heard you're quite the challenge" a silky smooth voice purred next to him.

Suzaku glanced up into a very pretty face with full lips and thick black eyeliner around lavender eyes. The face was framed with straight lilac hair in low pigtails. The woman had a silky lingerie outfit that resembled a scanty night gown that barely covered her ass. Suzaku felt the tightness expand in his chest and he looked away as a blush crept up his cheeks.

"I can keep you some company if you want" she continued and lightly traced her finger against his burning cheek.

He wanted to say no. He really did, but those lavender eyes looking into his brought up too many buried feelings. He hadn't felt another woman's touch in so long. He was having an inner debate with himself and he was quickly losing. What could it really hurt? His body was fighting against his pained heart. It wanted to feel pleasure. He could feel it in the pit of his core.

"A-alright…sure…" he mumbled. The woman smiled seductively at him and held out her hand. He hesitantly took it and let her lead him away to one of the private sectioned off alcoves.

X

Orpheus saw no point in hanging around the capital anymore. It was obvious that they weren't getting anywhere looking for V2 and after the whole Grim Reaper ex-boyfriend, he was more than willing to get the fuck out of dodge. Euphie didn't argue at all and was also ready to leave. Being here rubbed salt into her still open wounds. The capital used to be a place of sanctuary now it just felt like a black hole that would suck her into a world of oblivion.

They packed up their vehicle. Orpheus still grumbled about that damn wicked witch making him go back to that place of debauchery to return the apartment key. Really did she have to be that difficult? Well whatever, they wouldn't be staying long. In and out. Then they would be on the road.

Elfie once again tried to recruit Euphie to the life of seducing horny men much to Orpheus's disapproval and Euphie's entertainment. The ex-princess had to admit that it was somewhat flattering when the green haired woman kept calling her a cutie. She wasn't vain, but ever since she had given herself such a god awful haircut and gave up wearing the delicate fancy dresses, she didn't feel particularly attractive anymore. It was nice to have someone compliment her. Even if it was a hard working stripper and terrorist.

They were on their way out when her lavender eyes landed on soft wavy brown hair and emerald eyes. It was like a physical hit to her very soul. All the air in her lungs evaporated in an instant. Suzaku. Suzaku. He was holding some scantily clad woman's hand and…and… her Suzaku… He was… No. He wouldn't… He couldn't… Did he not love her anymore? How could he be letting another woman touch him? Euphie swayed on her feet. Orpheus wrapped his arm around her and his eyes darted to where she was looking.

Really? You have got to be kidding? Orpheus groaned in his mind and frowned deeply. Out of all the fucking nights, the Grim Reaper just happened to decide tonight that he wanted some action. God dammit. What kind of sick joke was this? He tightened his grip on the shaking woman next to him and quickly started directing towards the door. Time to get the fuck out. Euphie complied numbly on stumbling feet. Her mind a buzzing blackness.

X

Suzaku caught short blue hair out of the corner of his eye and he came to a stop. His eyes quickly focused on the blue haired woman being escorted out by the blonde haired man. He caught her profile and frowned. Why does he feel like he should know her? He definitely knows her. The lilac haired woman gave him a questioning look.

"Sorry. Excuse me" he mumbled and dropped her hand to follow the blue haired woman. The nagging feeling was eating his brain alive. He needed to talk to her. He needed to see her face clearly. Something about her was so achingly familiar.

He was maneuvering around people and tables and when the two people left the doors, he walked quicker. He came to an abrupt stop when a thin woman with dark green hair and lime green eyes intercepted his path. He looked at her for a split second before trying to step around her.

"Leaving us already. What a shame…" she said in a silky voice and matched his steps staying between him and the door. Elfie wasn't an idiot. She knew who Suzaku was and she took it upon herself to help out her fellow Peace Mark associates. It wouldn't be good for the Knight of Zero to be sniffing around them. Plus she liked that blue haired woman and didn't want any harm to come to the sweetheart.

Suzaku frowned. "Please excuse me." He pushed past her as politely as possible and exited the building. He scanned the parking lot not seeing the blue haired woman or the blonde man. Shit he swore to himself and clenched his fist. He glared back at the building behind him. He scanned the parking lot one more time and let out a frustrated growl. Enough of this pretending to be a normal human being. Screw this. He was done and going home. He stormed over to his bike and pulled out of the parking lot. He no longer wanted to see people or talk to them. He no longer felt the need to spend any time with a random woman who meant nothing to him. A woman that would never be able to compare to the one that he had lost.

X

Orpheus glanced in the rearview mirror at the glaring brunette as they drove away from the establishment. He then glanced at the almost comatose woman reclining in her seat looking at the ceiling with blank eyes. He let out a sigh and drove in silence. The more distance he could put between her and her tainted Grim Reaper the better.

Euphie couldn't function. Nothing felt right. Did Suzaku go there often? Did he let other women touch him? Did he touch other women? Did he share his body with other women? She blinked and looked at the black ceiling of the car. Her heart felt frozen. Was it even beating anymore? She pulled a delicate hand up and placed it over her heart. Yep. It was still beating in her chest. It didn't feel right though. She didn't feel right. Something was wrong with her. Wrong and broken. The nerves in her body felt fractured and raw. If she really did have those angel wings that Cornelia always teased that she did, they were shredded and torn off of her back.

She wasn't sure when it happened, but she must have fallen asleep. Her torturous dreams were filled with soft emerald green eyes and soft loving smiles. They were also filled with black hair, pale skin and violet eyes that went from fondness to pure hatred. The regal face morphed into one of wickedness. Her eyes snapped open as the panic of her nightmare took over. Her heart was beating erratically and a cold sweat covered her body. She flinched when a cold hand touched her forehead.

"Woah…hey it was just a nightmare… you're safe" Orpheus said in a soft voice and his eyes darted from the road to her for a second.

She met the mint green eyes and took a deep breath. She willed herself to calm down. Just a nightmare. It wasn't real. She reached her fingers up to touch her face. She felt the wet streaks running down the sides and wiped them away. "Sorry…" she mumbled in a tiny voice.

"You don't need to apologize Wolfey." Orpheus ran his hand through the soft blue hair once more before grasping the steering wheel again. "Next town we'll pull over and get a room for the night."

"Ok" Euphie sat up to look out the window. She chewed on her lip nervously. Was she really able to handle this? Would she really be able to get to the point of confronting her treacherous brother or her broken boyfriend...ex-boyfriend? Whatever he was now. Really could she blame him for being with other people? He thought she was dead after all and it wasn't like she was running to him to let him know she wasn't. To summarize it all she was a straight up coward in her opinion.

They drove in silence as her thoughts ate at her soul. Orpheus really didn't know what to say at this point to make her feel better. He was more than familiar with having a broken heart, but their situations weren't exactly the same. Euliya was dead. She hadn't turned into a demon to haunt him. She would forever be angelic and pure. He wanted to be able to take away Euphie's pain if even just a little bit, but he really didn't know how.

They pulled into a somewhat respectable looking hotel and exited the vehicle. Once they received a room, Euphie flopped down on one of the beds and curled up on herself. The broken posture tugged at Orpheus and he couldn't take.

"Get up" he said determinedly.

Large empty lavender eyes looked up at him. "Why?"

"We're going to go get you a drink" Orpheus grabbed her hand and pulled her to a sitting position.

"A drink?" Euphie's eyebrows furrowed in slight confusion.

"Yes. A strong one." Orpheus continued to hold her hand until they were in the bar attached to the hotel. He grabbed her waist and forced her to sit on the stool. "Wait here."

Euphie rested her elbows on the table and watched him curiously as he walked up to the bar counter. He came back and set a drink in front of her. She looked at it thoughtfully. She had never had an alcoholic drink in her life before. She reached out slowly and picked up the glass. She took a sip and her face scrunched slightly. It was strong and fruity and it assaulted her taste buds.

Orpheus smiled in amusement as her delicate face scrunched. He then took a sip of his own drink. "How is it?"

Euphie looked back at him. Her delicate shoulders shrugged and she took another slow sip. "Different. It's not horrible like I thought it would be."

The night progressed and Euphie turned into a giggling mess that had Orpheus chuckling as well. He listened attentively to her recounting some of her more scandalous adventures that really in his opinion were far from scandalous. More like completely and utterly innocent and it had him questioning once again where this sweet naïve woman came from and what had broken her so thoroughly. She then said something that made him frown in thought. If he had been sober, he might have been able to analyze the comment more thoroughly, but he wasn't. Euphie noticed the slip about her past life that gave away too much information even though her brain was muddled and she slapped her hand over her mouth.

"You didn't hear that" she whispered seriously.

Orpheus gave her a confused look, but ended up smiling in the end. "Hear what?" he said with amusement. He felt his skin crawl when she smiled at him. That beautiful charming dazzling smile that had him melting to putty in her hands. Wow. He turned his thoughts inward for a second. He hadn't been this weak to a woman's charm for as long as he could remember. He came to the realization that they were both thoroughly intoxicated and that now would probably be a good idea to go to bed. "I think you've had enough. Let's go to bed."

Orpheus stood up and helped her to her feet. She leaned heavily against him and he could feel her soft supple chest press against him. He felt heat crawl across he cheeks and he was pretty sure it wasn't the alcohol doing it. He held her close as they stumbled to their hotel room. She giggled beautifully and the melodic sound invaded deep through his bones. The hand on her hip tightened and he pulled her closer.

When they finally made it to the room, he tried to deposit her gently onto the bed. Instead he ended up stumbling and falling down on top of her. An electric current ripped through his body staring down into large lavender eyes. His heart hammered and he dropped his head closer. His eyes locked onto soft pink lips smiling at him fondly. He was close enough to feel the warmth of her breath caress his face gently.

"Do you think Suzaku still loves me?" Euphie asked in a tiny shaky voice.

Orpheus froze where he was as the question invaded deep into his muddled brain. He pulled back slightly and stared into the glassy lavender eyes that were starting to leak little drops of liquid. He took a shaky breath and rolled off of her and stared up at the ceiling. "He would be an idiot if he didn't…" he grumbled.

"It hurt so bad seeing him tonight. Worse than the other day" Euphie's voice cracked and a little sob escaped her.

Orpheus groaned and drug his hand over his face. "He's an idiot to let you go…"

"He doesn't even know I'm alive. He thinks I'm dead…"

Orpheus turned his head to look at the woman crying next to him and frowned. Why was she so complicated? Why did he want to know about her complicated life? Why did he feel the need to protect her? It wasn't natural for him. He couldn't think of anything to say and just stared at her in confusion.

She turned to look at him and their eyes locked. "Thanks for being my friend Orpheus… You're the only one I have left…" She reached over and twined their fingers together.

Orpheus just stared into her eyes getting hopelessly lost. They were beautiful. "Yeah… no problem… happy to be your friend" he forced out. After a moment he tore his gaze from her. "Let's go to sleep…" He tried to get up and she tightened her hold on his hand.

"Please stay with me…" Euphie said in a tiny voice. "I don't want to be alone…"

Orpheus really should work on his defenses against this broken angel. Instead he looked at her and melted to her whims. "Ok…" he mumbled and helped direct her further up the bed and pulled the blanket over the two of them. He practically died when she wrapped her arm around his stomach and snuggled closer. He stared at the ceiling and took a shaky breath. Really this couldn't be healthy for him. He was definitely going to regret this.


	10. Training the Wolf

Orpheus stared at the woman curled around him the next morning. For the life of him, he couldn't figure out why he was putting himself through this. I mean yeah she was pretty and sweet, but she was also extremely naïve and completely in love with another man. He must be seriously going insane. Lavender eyes fluttered open and when she smiled softly at him, he really felt like his heart was going to give out.

"Morning Wolfey" he mumbled. Euphie sat up and stretched with her arms over her head. Orpheus watched how her back arched beautifully and frowned. Yep. He was definitely some kind of masochist. "Let's get ready and then go and eat. I want to be on the road as soon as possible. We still have a lot of driving left before we get to our destination."

"Oh. Where are we going?" Euphie asked. Her head tilted ever so slightly as she looked at him.

Orpheus pushed himself to a sitting position. "You wanted to learn how to defend yourself and now that your shoulder is fairly healed, that's what we are going to do." He couldn't help to think that the faster he gave her the ability to be independent, the sooner he wouldn't have to torture himself by staying with her…like in the same bed because this was eventually going to blow up in his face. He already could see it coming.

"You know that was pretty vague" Euphie said in an amused tone and stuck her tongue out at him. "But I trust you anyways."

Orpheus tried not to grimace. Trust. Just great. Stupid naïve woman trusting a man she pretty much knew nothing about. Willingly sleeping next to him in the same freaking bed. He was a guy after all. Did she just not get this at all? Ugh. Whatever. "I'm going to go shower" he grumbled and climbed off of the bed.

Euphie watched him with curious confusion. He seemed particularly grouchy this morning. She mentally shrugged and chewed on her lip as she thought about what her goals should be. Obviously, getting tough enough to be able to defend herself physically. She should probably work on mentally getting stronger too, so that she could one day face Suzaku and Lelouch again. She pushed the sharp little pain in her chest away. She needed to stop reacting that way like seriously. It was better to think of them as strangers now. She was not a silly child and she should be able to control her emotions better. Maybe she should try to Geass herself out of these emotions. That was a thought, but she was scared of doing that to herself. What if it back fired or something and she became an emotionless zombie. She would talk it over with Orpheus. He would probably have some useful opinions on the matter. She poked at her shoulder and rotated it gently to distract herself.

Orpheus came back a couple of minutes later and watched her from the bathroom entry way as she poked her shoulder with a thoughtful pout on her delicate lips. Her eyes glazed over in thought. He folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the doorframe with some amusement. He really had to wonder if she was troubled in the head or something. Maybe that's why she didn't talk about her past. Maybe she couldn't remember all of it. God she was so weird. Why was he doing this to himself again? He let out a little cough and she looked over to him. He blushed slightly feeling self-conscious as her eyes roamed over his body.

She had been startled out of her inner monologue by Orpheus clearing his throat. She looked him over as she pulled herself out of the deep dive she was in back to the present. His long blonde hair was still dripping slightly and his skin was slightly flushed. He was dressed in a white tank top and tight black slacks. The lean muscles of his biceps flexed slightly from how they were folded. He really did look like a strong dependable person. Euphie looked back into his face and smiled at him. God she was so lucky.

Oh. Right. That's why he was doing this again because she was absolutely fucking beautiful. Even if her hair was sticking up in the most awkward of angles. It just added to the charm that was her. Orpheus averted his gaze and pushed off of the wall. "If you want to shower hurry up…" He grumbled and flopped down on the opposite bed staring at the ceiling.

"Alright" Euphie said cheerfully and practically skipped to the bathroom.

Orpheus groaned as his eyes followed her. No. Stop that. He scolded himself. You have shit to do Orpheus Zevon and falling for an unattainable woman is not one of them. Train her and then release her into the wild to fend for herself. Then get back to finding all the people on your list and rid the world of them. He nodded to himself silently. Yep. That's what he would do. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. His eyes darted to the bathroom door when he heard a slight humming coming from the shower. He groaned again and threw his arm over his eyes.

Euphie towel dried her hair and exited the bathroom. Orpheus was laying on the bed in the exact same spot that she had left him except his eyes were buried behind his arm. She jumped on the bed and pulled his arm away. "Alright what now Captain?" she said with a grin.

Orpheus let her hold his arm in her warm delicate little hands. "Food and then leaving." He pushed himself up and Euphie let go over his arm. The spot where she had been touching instantly felt cold.

X

Euphie followed behind Orpheus obediently as he walked into what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse on the coast. She paused for a moment when they finally entered the inner part of the building. The place was definitely not abandoned and was filled with knightmare frames and other vehicles.

Orpheus stopped walking after a moment when he realized that he had temporarily lost his trained wolf. He sighed and turned back to look at her. Her large lavender eyes were looking around with wonder. He scratched the back of his head with awkward frustration and stalked over to her grabbing her smooth hand. He couldn't help to marvel how smooth it was. It did not belong to a fighter. "Come on. Follow me."

"O-oh right! Sorry" Euphie mumbled and walked next to him obediently.

Orpheus couldn't help the momentary flash of 'good girl' that ran through his thoughts. Something you really would say to a pet. Not that he thought she was actually a pet, but it did entertain him to some regards. He was still slightly grinning when they were greeted by a wide eyed white haired woman in a fancy little suit jacket and skirt.

Miss X gaped at them and let her silver eyes trail over the little smirk on Orpheus's face. That was something you didn't see very often. Her eyes then drifted over the delicate flower of a woman that was beside him. Lastly her eyes darted to where they were holding hands.

"Oz. How nice to see you again" she greeted casually.

The little smirk on his face dropped just like his hand did. "Hey Miss X. What brings you to this dump?"

"Information my dear" she said silkily. Her eyes darted back to the woman noticing that she was wearing some of the clothes she had purchased the other day. She smiled mischievously at the frowning blonde that was only kind of avoiding eye contact. "Who's your friend?"

"Lina Wolfhart meet Miss X one of our information gathering gurus" Orpheus introduced them blandly.

"It's very nice to meet you" Euphie said politely and held out her hand.

Holy shit Miss X thought. Not only was she pretty, but damn did she have that whole sweet charming thing down. "The pleasure is all mine" Miss X responded. She took the delicate smooth hand in hers. No matter how hard she tried, her hand had never been as smooth and delicate as this blue haired woman. Nor did she probably come off as sweet no matter how hard she would try. Miss X had to admit she usually came off kind of sultry instead.

"Well we're actually on our way to talk to Ganabati, so maybe we'll run into you later or something" Orpheus said awkwardly with weird little pauses. "Come on Wolfey." He started walking away.

"Ok. See you later Miss X" Euphie said and followed after Orpheus quickly.

Miss X watched them walk away with a little smirk. Well isn't this interesting… Orpheus has found himself quite an interesting little catch. She couldn't help wondering if the tough anti-social aristocrat with a chip on his shoulder had finally found himself a little piece of action. She really hoped he did. Maybe then he wouldn't be such a stick in the mud.

X

Euphie flopped down on the bed exhausted. She ached everywhere. Yeah it made sense to get physically stronger, you had to put in some actual physical activities, but really Orpheus was just downright mean. Well not really mean. He was nice about the whole thing, but did he not see her pathetically weak arms? It was just ludicrous how many reps he expected her to do with those weights. With a healing should no less. Don't even get her started on the sit ups and the running and all the other horrible things that he was putting her through.

She laid down on the bed brooding in her fatigued state. She sniffed her armpit. God did she smell like a garbage dump. She couldn't remember a time in her life that she had been this stinky and sweaty and tired.

That was where Orpheus found her moments later. He chuckled in amusement at the brooding little pout on her face. He was met with a stony lavender stare. He was not intimidated at all. It was like having a puppy growl at you. Just adorable is what it was. He walked over the rickety bed and handed her a cold bottle of water and a granola bar.

Euphie huffed as she took the offered items. She unscrewed the cap and drank hastily. It was the best thing ever and her muscles relaxed slightly. Orpheus chuckled as some water escaped the corners of her mouth. When she pulled the bottle away, he reached over and wiped it off. Euphie swatted his hand away still slightly grouchy at the muscular blonde who didn't look nearly as awful as she felt. She then proceeded to rip the wrapping off of the granola bar and ate it quickly.

"Such a lady" Orpheus teased and poked her cheek.

"Yeah well… there's a time and place for that" Euphie said sourly before her mouth turned into a little smirk and she giggled. God was she turning into a stinky sweaty barbarian.

"Hey so tomorrow I thought instead of working you to exhaustion we could go practice shooting."

Euphie froze mid sip and slowly pulled the bottle away from her mouth. She gazed to the side away from Orpheus. "No guns…" she whispered in a shaky voice.

Orpheus frowned. "If you're going to learn to defend yourself, you're going to need to learn how to shoot a gun." In his opinion, it was really common sense into today's society.

Euphie glared at him in defiance. "I said no guns! I will not pick up a gun ever again!" she growled out angrily.

Orpheus sat looking at her dazed for a couple of minutes. He had seen her get defiant before, but this was definitely pushing angry. Very angry. He held up his hands in defeat. "Alright. That's cool. No guns."

They sat in silence for a while. Euphie picking at the label of the water bottle. Eyes still hard looking straight ahead. She would never ever touch another filthy gun again in her life. She would rather die than touch the thing that had branded her Princess Massacre. Yeah. She had googled herself to see what story had been placed out there. Suffice to say it really irked her. Lelouch that fucking piece of shit. She blinked as the swear words filtered across her thoughts. Wow. Not only a stinky sweaty barbarian. Apparently she was becoming a vulgar one as well.

Orpheus watched her quietly and then cleared his throat to get her attention. Sometimes he really wondered what went on in that weird brain of hers. "So… daggers and swords ok?" He really needed to give her some means of defense instead of just her fists.

She gave him a little dazzling smile. "Yeah. That would be cool!"

Orpheus smiled back at her. Ok. He could work with this. He ruffled her hair playfully. "Ok. Take a shower and then meet me in the hall. We are going to go visit Ganabati's personal little store and see what strikes your fancy."

Euphie saluted him and grabbed a change of clothes from the crappy little dresser in the crappy little room that she completely felt at home in. Orpheus refused to admit that he saw the scanty underwear. Nope. He did not. He left and headed to his room for a quick shower himself. A cold one. Doing physical activities with her always left him feeling a little antsy. He couldn't help it when he held her feet during sit-ups or when they were sparring. It wasn't like she was in a freaking snow suit or something. Nope. She was in tight little workout clothes. For her it was an exercise in getting tougher. For him it was an exercise of not getting a boner. Which was completely and utterly mortifying and he would awkwardly have to excuse himself until he could calm the fuck down.

X

The next couple of days went by pretty much the same. Exercise, training in hand to hand combat and now the additional training with sharp pointy objects. They practiced throwing them. God was Euphie completely awful at that. They practiced blocking and striking. Euphie wasn't utterly incompetent at that at least. Then they would shower, eat and spend the night chatting.

Orpheus knew that he was letting time slip away from him, but he couldn't really find the will to care at the moment. He was enjoying himself which really was a nice change of pace. It wasn't like his targets were going anywhere. Either someone would get to them first or he would eventually. It was fine. Completely fine.

They were walking back to their little shitty apartments made from converted office rooms in the building next to the warehouse one night when Miss X popped back up stopping them. "Hello you two. Long time no see" she said in a little sing song voice.

Euphie gave her a dazzling smile. "It's nice to see you again."

"So what brought you back here?" Orpheus asked as the three of them walked down one of the hallways.

"I actually have some information for you Oz and I was close enough, I thought I would swing by in person."

Orpheus paused. "What is it?"

"A little wizard passed along the message that it's rumored that Typhon Ladon and possibly Oiaguro Zevon are currently aboard a Logres-class ship heading for France to put down a little rebellion. Some members of Peace Mark are already on their way to intercept and if you leave right now, you could probably catch them."

Orpheus felt a small wave of anticipation weave through his system. If he could get Ladon and his uncle, it would be two more people off of his hit list. Especially his uncle that was the number two target right behind V2. He nodded and picked up his pace. "Thanks for the information. I'll be heading out right away." The two women followed behind him. Euphie stared at him with concerned eyes. Orpheus caught her eye for a second and looked away. "You'll stay here Wolfey. Ask Ganabati for a rundown of knightmare frames while I'm gone."

Euphie faltered for a second. "I'm not coming with you?"

Orpheus paused when they reached his door and he turned to face her. He cupped her face gently. "Absolutely not. You are not ready to go into a violent battle against Britannia."

Euphie chewed her lip nervously and stared at him. "You'll be careful right? Promise me you'll come back?"

Orpheus caressed her smooth cheek with his thumb. "Of course I'll come back. I promised you after all. Now I really got to get going." He removed his hand.

Miss X who was watching the exchange with curiosity wrapped her arm around the other woman's waist. "Don't worry. I'll take good care of your little wolf while you're gone."

Orpheus nodded and gave one more look to the blue haired woman before he entered his bedroom to change clothes and get on his fucking way like right fucking now. He didn't have time to think about anything else. He could taste the revenge on the tip of his tongue and it tasted delicious.

Miss X directed the blue haired woman away from the closed door. This would be a fun opportunity to get to know the woman without Orpheus watching like a hawk. He was unusually protective of this woman. She couldn't remember not seeing them together. She would also peek in occasionally on their little training sessions and to say she was intrigued would be an understatement.


	11. Out and About in the World

Euphie poked at the roots of her hair and frowned. That was not acceptable. Nope. The pink hair mocked her silently. Well shit. She needed to go shopping. She let out an irritated huff. How was she supposed to get into the city? Would Ganabati let her borrow one of the cars? She finished towel drying her hair and slipped on a pair of stretchy jeans, a tank top and a leather jacket. She carefully slipped a little switch blade into the outer pocket and also one into the inner pocket.

She was on her way to find the large man who was in charge of this sketchy little warehouse. She was intercepted by the feminine Miss X. She was still trying to figure this particular woman out. She was pretty, well groomed, and behaved with poise. She was also shrouded in mystery. Miss X wasn't a real name after all and the woman never gave anything away. She also seemed to know so much random shit that Euphie just couldn't fathom it.

"Good morning Lina" Miss X greeted smoothly and fell into step with her.

"Good morning" Euphie said just as pleasantly and tilted her head in greeting. Her bangs had grown out a little and fell into her face. She pushed the hair back.

"What are your plans today? Well besides sitting around chewing your lip worried about Oz" the white haired woman questioned.

"I'm actually going to go into the city for some necessities."

"Oh perfect. I'll come with you."

Euphie shrugged and smiled warmly at the woman. It would be nice to have company. Particularly womanly company. Euphie had kind of slipped into bad habits hanging around Orpheus. She wasn't sure she would ever fit into the proper society ever again. Miss X led her to a little silver convertible and Euphie hopped over the edge without opening the door. A white eyebrow lifted in surprise, but Miss X didn't say anything as she opened the driver side door and slipped in.

X

Euphie chewed on her lip in thought as she looked down the extremely busy street. People were everywhere and there were stores everywhere. Where could she find hair dye? "Umm… Miss X?"

Miss X met the lavender gaze and smiled sweetly. "Yes?"

"Do you know where I could buy some hair dye?" Euphie averted her gaze and shifted awkwardly. She didn't particularly want to admit to dying her hair, but drastic circumstances called for drastic measures.

"You dye your hair?" Miss X asked with raised eyebrows. Interesting.

"Umm… yeah… I really like the color blue" Euphie said sheepishly and smiled innocently.

Hmm… Interesting indeed. "All right… I know of a place" Miss X answered. Her silver eyes scanned over the dark blue hair noticing the slight pink roots before she took off at a leisurely stroll. Euphie followed after her. "So Lina out of curiosity, why are you hiding your natural hair color?"

"Whaa? I'm not hiding anything" Euphie said quickly. She tried not to waver when the probing eyes scanned her again.

"Hmm… alright" Miss X purred at her and grinned sneakily. She did have a knack for picking people apart and this unique woman was a perfect subject to scrutinize. There was most certainly something lurking underneath that delicate albeit a little more muscular surface. After walking in silence for a little bit longer, they stopped in front of rebellious looking store. "Here we are."

Euphie looked at the store feeling slightly intimidated. It was a very much a punky rebellious little store with a tattoo parlor next to it. She swallowed and then pushed the door open. They located the blue hair dye and Euphie was more than willing to leave at that point, but Miss X had other ideas and hooked their arms together dragging her further into the store. Euphie's eyes took on a panicked look when they stopped in front of the lacey scandalous lingerie section.

"I say since we're here, you get something new to surprise Oz when he gets back" Miss X said suggestively and trailed her fingers against a particularly lacey scandalous getup.

Euphie's face exploded like a volcano at the implication. "W-what!? No…umm… we aren't like that! W-we're just friends!" Euphie stammered out quickly and awkwardly.

White wavy hair cascaded on Miss X's shoulder as she tilted her head to peer into the face that was flushed. The red highlights slowly creeping down a pale neck. "Oh really? That I find hard to believe… You two seem rather… how should I put this?… _Close_."

"No! It's not like that!" Euphie clutched the hair dye box tightly.

"Why not? You're both young attractive people. I'm surprised that Oz hasn't snapped and ravished you yet. He certainly looks like he wants to."

Euphie's eyes darted around quickly looking for an escape from this conversation. She took a shaky breath and gave up. "I can't…" she whispered softly. "My heart belongs to someone else."

"Oh" Miss X responded. She tapped her chin for a couple of moments in deep thought. "So where is this person your heart belongs to? Why aren't you fluttering around him instead?"

"Um… I can't be with him right now…" Euphie was seriously regretting going shopping with this woman. She was absolutely the worst.

"Ok. So you love someone else you can't be with and you're spending all of your time with an attractive man you claim is your friend. A man that clearly wants in your pants. A man that you clearly have some sort of feelings for with how concerned you were when he left." White eyebrows were raised and looked at the blushing woman for an explanation.

Euphie shifted uncomfortably. "Orpheus is my best friend…" she mumbled lamely. "I don't want to hurt him by only giving him part of myself…I could never give him my full heart and he deserves someone that can…"

"See the weird thing is I've known him for a long time and you my little lady" Miss X poked her for emphasis "are the only woman he's gotten this close to. He was obviously hurt and is still healing. If you want my opinion, you should help him heal and get over his dry spell. Even if you don't give him everything, I think the little bit that you can give him will help." Miss X smiled at her sweetly.

Euphie swallowed and looked away. This has got to be one of the most fucking awkward conversations she has ever been subject to. Like how the hell did this even end up happening? She remained silent and her eyes roamed over the copious amounts of suggestive undergarments. She turned around hoping this conversation was finally over.

"I also think that you're a little damaged and it would be good for you as well. Miss _Lina Wolfhart_ …. It's an interesting name that you gave yourself there. Just like blue is an interesting hair color to have chosen."

"I'm not sure what you are implying" Euphie stared at her defiantly with narrowed eyes.

"Oh I think you do… Now the only way you will get me to shut my pretty little mouth and quit pestering you is if you pick out a sexy little outfit." Miss X's smile was predatory just like her tone was. She was determined to get her blonde friend laid. It was about damn time.

Oh for fucks sakes. Euphie really wanted to punch this stupid charming woman in the face. She paused for a second and blinked. Wow. That was a first. She usually wasn't that violent of a person. Like at all. She glanced back at the grinning woman and groaned. Fine. Fine. Whatever. She turned back to glare at the scanty garments and picked a lacey black and turquoise bra and matching panties that had a cute little bow that would rest above her ass crack. God what was she becoming.

She sighed in relief when they finally made it to the checkout. Finally. She was so done shopping. They were just about to leave when her eyes fell on a beautiful little wolf tattoo in the window for display. It was the outline of wolf standing and howling at a full moon with clouds drifting across. Miss X stared at her in question and Euphie smiled wickedly. If she was going to be a fricking terrorist with scanty undergarments and crass manners, she might as well embrace her new self completely. She walked into the tattoo parlor followed by a flabbergasted white haired woman.

Miss X watched as the delicate blue haired woman leaned her front on a chair and her tank top pushed up. A wry smile played on her mouth. This blue haired woman was hovering between a rebel and a saint. She was definitely going to be dangerous to a certain blonde haired terrorist. Her inner musings were interrupted by the very feminine squeak that escaped those soft lips that were formed into a tight line. Lavender eyes were squeezed shut in pain. Little tears escaping the corner of her eyes.

X

Euphie was just about done with the probing questions that kept falling from her companion's mouth throughout the day and during dinner. They finished their meal. Euphie tight lipped and Miss X smiling innocently. They had just hopped back into the car and the white haired woman asked her another question. It was one too many and Euphie snapped. She did not need a constant reminder of the life she had lost and could never go back to. She held onto the woman's arm and stared at her.

"You no longer feel curious about me at all, so stop asking personal questions." Her vision tinted red and the white haired woman blinked.

"Today was fun. Thanks for spending time with me" Miss X smiled nicely and turned the key starting the car. No more questions escaped the other woman and Euphie leaned back in her seat with relief. It quickly morphed into pain when her back was pressed against it. She frowned at herself. Why did she have to go and get a tattoo? What kind of impulsive bullshit was that? Stupid girl she scolded herself.

X

Orpheus jolted at the impact of the coming attack. He was still a little stunned that the altered knightmare frame he purchased from Ganabati was still in the air. It really was a piece of crap, but beggars can't be choosers. The black market only had so many knightmare frames to go around and any that could attach a flying device were even fewer and far between.

"Hey Oz we just blasted the hangar bay open if you wanted to get a closer look inside" Zi Dian advised over the radio.

"Got it" Orpheus replied as he used one of his remaining vibration swords to cut through the enemy unit. He maneuvered through the remaining fighting and landed in the destroyed hangar bay. Pieces of enemy units laid scattered on the ground in flaming rubble. He quickly exited his cockpit. It was true that he could have just tried to destroy the whole damn ship, but this particular Logres-class was huge. He also wanted the satisfaction of seeing his enemies die with his own eyes. With a dagger in one hand and a pistol in the other, he started on his merry fucking way through the gigantic vessel. It would make sense that Typhon Ladon and his uncle would probably be somewhere in the command section seeing as they were fairly high ranking officers.

He stumbled across a couple of unfortunate Britannian's on his way, but they were ill equipped to deal with him and he was fast on his feet. He didn't give them a second thought as he stepped over or around their bodies. Most of them were on their way to intercept the terrorist that were slowly invading their ship.

It didn't take long for Orpheus to make it to the bridge and low and behold there was one of the little pests. Picking off little groups of Britannians had been one thing, but encountering multiple enemies in one location ended up leaving Orpheus with quite the little bullet wound in his arm and a little graze wound on his thigh. Typhon was about to leave the room through another door before Orpheus shot him in the back of the head. After what felt like hours of shooting, rolling and ducking behind objects the bridge fell silent. Orpheus stood up from behind one of the chairs he had been using for cover. The room was covered with bloody carnage and prone bodies. Pilots laid at his feet. He grimaced in disgust. Thank god at least one of the pilots had set the auto pilot at least, so they weren't crashing into the ocean. Well not yet anyways.

He decided to follow the path that Typhon was originally planning on using to see if that led him to his uncle or at least something. It led into a tiny little office with a desk and chair. Orpheus limped by the desk scanning it briefly for any useful information, but not seeing anything readily useable, he continued on his way through another door.

His exploring continued on just like the sounds of battle carried on around him. He eventually found another little command room and his eyes locked onto Oiaguro Zevon sitting at the desk. He raised his pistol to shoot and a gun blast echoed through the room. However, it wasn't his. Pain ricocheted through his arm as his pistol flew from his hand. "Fuck!" He swore and almost fell to the ground.

"Sorry nephew. I can't have you shooting me just yet. Plus I assume you only have so many bullets left and you'll be needing them to get off of this ship alive" Oiaguro said indifferently as he kept his own pistol leveled on the stunned blood covered blonde. Orpheus growled and took a step forward. "Nuh uh. Stay where you are as we have a friendly conversation."

"What the fuck would you want to talk about you bastard" Orpheus bit out and spit in the direction of the regal looking asshole sitting in the chair with dirty blonde groomed hair.

"You're looking for V2 are you not?"

Orpheus glared with narrowed eyes. "I think you know the answer to that. I plan on killing all of you and he's at the top of my shit list for so many reasons."

"Hmm…yes I know all about that little Geass Order he had. The one that you were a part of. First, I do want to apologize for my involvement in that whole village fiasco. I've done a lot of things that I am not proud of."

"Save the fucking sob story for someone who gives a damn" Orpheus pulled a dagger out of holster resting on the back of his belt. If he couldn't get close enough to physically touch the man, he would try his luck at throwing a dagger into his throat.

"I have a proposal for you. I would like to team up temporarily until we find V2. He is also someone that I would like to get rid of."

Orpheus scoffed. Hell to the fucking no. He threw the dagger and dropped to the ground in case his uncle tried to shoot him. He rolled to the side to see if the dagger hit its mark. It didn't and was instead lodged in the back of the chair. His uncle chuckled at him. "Think about what I've said. You should get on your way now. The Glinda Knights just arrived and are taking care of the traitorous ramble floating about. Princess Marrybell is already in the ship with some of her knights. I'll hold them off for you."

Orpheus watched with angry eyes as his number 2 target got up and left the room elegantly. He groaned as he pushed himself back up on his feet. Pain shot through his wounded leg and arm. His eyes scanned the room and quickly located his pistol that indeed only had one bullet left. It didn't look too damaged and would probably still work. He hastily exited through the same door his uncle used, but he didn't see him anymore. Fuck. Dammit. He growled in frustration and started limping back to his waiting knightmare. Unless he wanted to end up in an early grave it was probably time to get the fuck out of here. Glinda Knights weren't something to mess around with.

He was just turning a corner when he heard and saw Marrybell and her knights. He had a split second to activate his Geass hoping to delay her attack or to delay her use of her own Geass. The one that Oldrin told him about. It wasn't like he was keen on being a mindless puppet.

X

Marrybell had just turned the corner when her eyes landed on mint green eyes and long blonde hair in low pigtails. Her violet eyes scanned over the body and her heart fluttered. All the air in her lungs seemed to vanish. "Oldrin?" she cried out in surprise. She noticed the blood pouring down her left arm and started forward. "What are you doing here? You're hurt!"

"Princess?" One of her knights stepped forward.

Marybell waved the knight off. "It's fine. Keep scanning the ship for the enemies." The two knights hesitated, but then walked down another hallway. Marrybell started forward again. She was confused to see Oldrin here, but it didn't matter because she was _here_. She was within arm's reach. The coral haired princess smiled. "I thought I would never see you again…" she said in a quiet voice. She froze when Oldrin gave her a sad smile.

"I'm really sorry about this Marrybell. Really and truly" Orpheus said in what appeared to be a feminine voice. He raised the pistol quickly and shot her.

Marrybell's violet eyes flew open in surprise as the impact registered through her chest. Before she could collect her thoughts, Oldrin was already running down the hallway. What!? No Oldrin wouldn't shoot her. She wouldn't. No. Marrybell screamed in frustration. How could the woman she loved do this to her? A deep white hot anger rushed through her system. It was enough to drown out the pain radiating through her chest and she pushed herself to her feet. Oldrin was hers. If she wouldn't willing submit, then Marrybell would force her to. She was not letting of her. Not now. Not ever.

X

Orpheus was just about to the hangar bay when he stumbled across the figure of a fellow Peace Mark member. He couldn't remember the boy's name, but he had seen him before. The boy was younger than he was and was coated in blood. His amber eyes locked with Orpheus's and he wheezed out blood. Shit. Orpheus wouldn't leave him here. He bent down and hoisted the young man up.

When they got to the hangar bay he noticed that his knightmare had been utterly destroyed. He scanned the rubble and his eyes landed on some convenient Glinda Knight knightmares. That would work. He drug the wounded boy with him and hopped into the nearest knightmare. Within moments he was leaving through the gaping hole in the ship. His eyes landed once on a limping coral haired princess with a glaring violet eye and one tinged with red. He quickly averted his gaze to avoid accidentally falling victim to her Geass. Maybe he should have made sure that was dead. He really should have. Now she was just another violent Geass user left in the world. Well unless he had wounded her badly enough that she would eventually succumb to her wound, but she was up and about walking around. Fuck she was a tough cookie. He would let his regret claw at him later though. Right now it was time to leave.

X

Marrybell watched as the knightmare took off. All of her energy drained from her body in an instant and she fell to her knees. The pain in her chest increased 10 fold. Not only did she have a fucking bullet wound through her chest, but it was put there by the love of her life. The same one that was flying away from her. Hot angry tears cascaded down her cheeks and she pressed her hand to the bullet wound. Why? Why? _Why!?_ The air around her evaporated and her vision blurred to black.


	12. Crashing Waves

**Author note -** _So realized a little plot hole hanging out in there in this little world. Orpheus shouldn't have been able to tell that Euphie had used Geass on him...whoops...too late now. So to throw a band aid on that little blurp, I'm just going to assume that if you possess Geass, you know when it's been used on you... and fixed... not really but oh well. I'm too lazy to go back and change anything._

* * *

Euphie ran through the doors of the warehouse near the coast of Spain. The surviving Peace Mark members had taken refuge on the closest piece of land three days ago. When Ganabati relayed the message Euphie panicked. Yeah she could have just waited for Orpheus to come back, but what if he didn't come back? She needed to find him. She needed to see him. When she found out that some of Ganabati's mech techs were going to fly over to them, they let her come with. She could be quite persuasive when she wanted to be.

Euphie's eyes landed on a hunched over blonde talking to some other person that Euphie didn't know and didn't see. She just saw Orpheus. She ran up behind him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders burying her face into the crook of his neck.

Orpheus heart stopped for a moment at the intense contact that seemingly came out of nowhere. His fight instinct quickly kicking in. His body tensed and he grabbed onto the arm around his neck. A broken sob escaped his attacker and he noticed the blue hair out of the corner of his eyes. Eyes that grew bigger in shock.

"Wolfey?"

"Oh Orpheus you're ok! Thank god you're ok!" Euphie sobbed and pulled him tighter.

The man that had been talking to Orpheus excused himself politely and left. Orpheus took a couple of deep breaths. "Hey enough of that crying. I'm really alright, but how did you get here?"

Euphie released her hold and scooted around in front of him. She cupped his face and moved it around in weird angles studying it for any damage. "I came with the techs when I heard they were coming here."

Euphie gave him a small smile one that he returned as he stroked down her unruly hair that was a slightly different shade of blue. His eyes scanned the edges of her hair line and noticed the left over dye. He pursed his lips in thought. She dyes her hair? His thoughts were interrupted again when she wrapped her arms around him one more time and pushed herself up against him. Now his thoughts were circling around how warm she felt. How good she felt. He slowly lifted his uninjured arm and wrapped it loosely around her back. His fingers skimming lightly over her spine.

He noticed some people staring at them and he frowned. A light blush crept along his cheek bones. "Hey Wolfey, let's go somewhere else and talk."

He felt the smile against his neck and it caused a weird chilled feeling when she pulled away enough for him to actually see it. "Ok." Euphie straightened up and held her hand out to him. He instantly forgot about anyone else besides her and grasped her hand letting her pull him to his feet. They had only walked a little bit when Euphie stopped. "You're limping."

He gave her a rueful smile. "Yep. Apparently my legs take a lot of abuse when I fight, but it's ok. It's just a scratch. Nothing to worry about. Come on." He gave her hand a little tug. She released the lip that was captured between her teeth and followed him without any more fanfare. He led her to a car and they climbed in. He was actually staying at a little hotel used by mostly Peace Mark associates not too far away, but he spent the majority of the last couple of days at the discreet base.

X

Euphie followed Orpheus quietly as he led her to his room. There were so many conflicting thoughts absorbing her brain. Mostly though the voice that wanted Orpheus out of sheer happiness to see him again was speaking the loudest. It left her senses tingling. She wanted him. She wanted to protect him and make him happy. He was so strong and determined…and…attractive. The feeling felt alien and wrong, but at the same time so utterly and completely right. They were so good together. He protected her and helped her. He smiled at her like she was one of the most precious things in the world to him. A look that she hadn't received in so long.

Orpheus sat down on the bed. Euphie next to him cross legged facing him. He also adjusted to face her. One leg bent up. The injured leg hanging off of the side. Euphie's heart pitter pattered in her chest when he gave her a fond smile and brushed the hair from her face. "You didn't have to come here you know? I promised I'd come back."

Euphie swallowed. Orpheus started pulling his hand away, but she trapped it against her cheek that was steadily getting warmer. "I needed to see you. I was worried…Orpheus…umm…" Euphie chewed on her lip and then let out a shaky breath. She leaned forward quickly and place a feather light kiss on his lips. When she pulled back she looked into his stunned face for his reaction. His green eyes were comically huge and his mouth was hanging open. She let out a nervous little giggle and then covered her mouth with her hand. "W-was that ok?" she asked in a tiny voice.

Orpheus blinked. That didn't just happen. Did it? He could feel the slight buzzing on his lips from the brief contact. He stared at the woman in front of him. Her lavender eyes were watching him closely and scanning his face. He let the air out of his lungs in a shaky breath. "Y-yeah…" he said in a whisper. God it was more than ok. It was-

"Can I do it again?" Euphie kept her eyes locked with his as she leaned forward again.

Orpheus didn't trust his voice. He nodded his head slowly. When her lips touched his again a little choked whine escaped him and his body started to shake gently. When she pulled back again, his hand automatically moved to the back of her head. His fingers diving into the short hair. He pulled her forward again and placed his lips back onto her gently. Their lips moved against each other and she scooted closer. Her own hand pushing into his thick blonde hair as her other hand cupped his cheek gently. Her thumb skimming lightly over his sun kissed skin. Their mouths continued to press and pull against each other and Orpheus felt like he was melting. Everything seemed to melt away. The stress. The disappointment. All that remained was the faint taste of spearmint against his mouth and the smell of vanilla wafting off of her.

Euphie had maneuvered to the point of straddling him with her chest pressed against his. Waves of heat were crashing against him and the tentative gentle kissing wasn't enough anymore. He parted his lips and trailed his tongue against hers. Euphie let out a quick puff of air from her nose and it felt like a living thing caressing his face. She parted her lips slowly and her own tongue touched his tentatively with a little flick. Orpheus groaned and pulled her closer. He momentarily forgot about his damaged arm being damaged and pulled at her lower back. A sting of pain shot through it and he grimaced.

Euphie pulled back and stared at him with concern. "What? What did I do wrong?" she asked quickly as she scanned his face.

"Nothing. You're absolutely perfect" Orpheus said fondly and rested his forehead against hers. "It's my arm. Got a little carried away there for a moment."

Euphie pulled back to look at his arm. "You're arms hurt?" There was a little thoughtful pout on her lips and Orpheus groaned and couldn't take it anymore.

"It's fine. Don't worry about it." She opened her mouth to say more, but was promptly shut up by Orpheus tongue invading her mouth. She let out a little moan as he mapped out the inside of her mouth. Her hips rocked against him just right and he shuddered at the friction. Fuck. He wanted more. So much more. He wanted everything.

He slowly moved his hands to the front of her sweatshirt and pulled at the zipper. Euphie moved back a little to give him better access without breaking the tongue dance that they were doing. She obediently let her arms fall for his to remove the sweatshirt. A shiver wracked her body as his fingers pushed up her shirt and caressed her stomach. They retreated a moment later and grabbed at the bottom of the shirt. Orpheus pulled back and stared at her. "Can I?"

Euphie nodded quickly and raised her arms for the shirt to be removed. She then grabbed his and pulled up as well, but slowly not wanting to hurt his arm anymore. After both shirts were removed they crashed against each other. Skin touching skin. Hard and soft pressing and pulling. The soft tentative kissing vanished and was replaced with hungry need. Orpheus pushed her down on the bed and a squeak escaped her. He looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Tattoo…still kind of hurts…"

Orpheus blinked and then slowly rolled her over to look at her back. "You got a tattoo while I was gone?" Euphie nodded and smiled sheepishly. Orpheus groaned as another wave of heat traveled through him. He dove back into to kiss that little smile. "What am I going to do with you?" he said fondly against her lips.

"I don't know. Give me a stern talking to? Or maybe I just need a little bit of punishment…" Euphie said in a teasing manner. Her lavender eyes sparkled in mischief and Orpheus knew he was lost to her. Whatever she wanted he would do. His fingers trailed behind her back as he trailed kisses down her delicate neck. He let his fingers pause for a second on her bra hook, but when no protest arose, he unhooked it and pulled it off of her. He sat back to look at her. Fuck. She was beautiful and perfect and he was about to lean back down again, but she scurried off of the bed.

"Wait" she said quickly and stood in front of the bed. Orpheus scooted the edge and placed his legs on either side of her as his hands rested casually her hips. He looked up into her face and tilted his head in question with a small smile. "It's easier to take pants off standing up…" Euphie said awkwardly as a fierce blush exploded on her face.

"God you're so right…" Orpheus said in a low voice and instantly undid the fastening of her pants pulling them off. He didn't hesitate to take the little lacey underwear with them. He paused for a moment and just looked before his mouth began kissing and nipping at her lower stomach and hips. Euphie's breathing hitched in her throat and she grasped his hair as sensations assaulted her. She squeaked in surprise when she felt a hesitant finger slip between her legs. "Can I?" Orpheus mumbled against her pelvis bone.

"Y-yeah" Euphie said in a shaky breathless voice. Her body shook as he pressed his finger inside of her. A small groan escaped him against her stomach where he was currently resting his face as he explored her intimate area. She squirmed against him. He added another finger and her hips arched towards him. A moan escaped her parted lips and the fingers in his hair tightened their hold. The buzzing ache inside of her grew and the buzzing traveled up her body to her brain. Her legs shook lightly.

Orpheus scooted back on the bed and pulled her with him. She stumbled slightly as she fell on the bed. She didn't have time to register a lot before Orpheus was pushing her thighs apart and adding his tongue to his exploring fingers. Euphie squeaked and arched into him. Her legs tried to tighten around him, but with his free hand he steadied her. It didn't take long with the added stimulation for her to be writhing and arching into him. Her muscles clenching and unclenching rhythmically as her breathing picked up. Her brain buzzed and everything started becoming fuzzy. "Oh god… Orpheus…" she moaned as the orgasm ripped through her system.

Orpheus had long forgotten about the ache in his arm or the ache in his leg. They were effectively shut up by the ache in his pants. The heavy need that was close to just exploding from the current situation. He was pretty sure the moment he was touched in any way, shape or form, he would be coming in seconds. He hadn't been this turned on for as long as he could remember. The feeling of her smooth skin, the way she wiggled and clenched around him, the way she tasted, the noises falling from her parted lips…it was too much.

He pushed himself up slightly and started a trail of kisses up her torso. The fingers in his hair loosened from gripping to caressing. When he found the pink little nubs, he playfully teased them with his tongue and teeth causing more lovely sounds for fall from her mouth. "E-enough…" she finally said in a broken breathy voice. He finally made his way up to her mouth and kissed her gently as he rocked against her.

Euphie felt the hard bulge brush against her hip and her broken brain pieced itself together enough for her fingers to quickly search out the fastening of his pants. Orpheus shuddered against her and took a shaky breath. She rolled them over and he obediently lifted his hips for her. After some scooting and tugging, his pants and boxers were off. Euphie sat staring at him for a moment. He was beautiful. Tall. Muscular…standing very much at attention. Orpheus hid his eyes behind his uninjured arm. Watching her look at him had always unnerved him slightly. He squeaked in surprise when a warm delicate hand touched him gently. He let out a shaky breath as the touch became firmer and glided across him. He let out another noise of surprise when he felt a wet tongue caress across his abs. They retracted at the ticklish feeling and Euphie let out a tiny giggle. Her hand moving faster as she trailed her tongue and lips over his body.

He let out a low groan when her tongue circled the tip of him. His fingers buried themselves in the messy blue strands and gently urged her for more. He finally looked at her and he almost lost it completely when Euphie happily complied and her mouth descended on him. His hips lifted in response and his breathing shook with anticipation. He was already so close. He could feel it. Waves of pleasure were invading every corner of his body. He could feel every pass of her hand and mouth. Every tongue caress and flick. Oh god. He had never experienced this before. Ever. He had never been inside someone's mouth like this and god it was mind blowing. Mind numbing. Mind altering. "W-wolfey…I'm…g-goi-" a low moan was torn from him as his release ripped through him.

Euphie squeaked and pulled off only causing the sticky substance to hit her face and trail down her chin. Orpheus was still tingling with warm aftershocks as he looked at her. Euphie's beautiful elegant face painted with his essence. The sight was almost too much for him and then she smiled at him innocently and wiped off a patch from her cheek. His heart faltered and his lungs constricted painfully. "I'm going to go wash my face" Euphie said with amusement as she climbed off of the bed. Orpheus's eyes never left her naked form.

Orpheus grabbed a pair of boxers while he waited. He was just sitting back down on the bed when she joined him. She walked over to her own discarded clothes and slipped on the underwear and t-shirt before joining him back on the bed. Her eyes zeroed in on his bandaged arm. "Does it hurt?" She ran her hand gently down his arm.

Orpheus shrugged lightly. Yeah it hurt still, but there were other things on his mind at the moment. He swallowed and shifted awkwardly. "So… that just happened…" he started awkwardly.

Euphie gave him a tiny shaky smile. Her own thoughts were racing and she was trying to push any of the guilty ones out or at least shut them up. "I'm sorry…" she said in a tiny whisper and chewed at her lower lip.

"Why are you sorry? That was the best thing to happen to me in a really long time. You have no idea."

They held each other's gazes before Euphie finally broke eye contact. "I'm sorry because even though I like you and am attracted to you…in case that wasn't clear… I…umm…still love Suzaku…" Euphie buried her face in her hands. God did her heart ache. She was so conflicted about this. Even if Suzaku was free from their relationship thinking she was dead, she wasn't free because she knew he was very much alive. She felt dirty.

Orpheus understood. He really did. He carefully reached up and pulled her hands away from her face. "It's ok. Really it is. I understand. I still love Euliya and I always will… We don't need to the label this as anything serious… We're friends right?" Orpheus brushed the hair from her face and skimmed his thumb over the healing scab on her forehead.

"Yeah we're friends…" Euphie said as she smiled at him. Her own hand reached out and caressed his face.

Orpheus pulled her forward and she complied. She could feel his breath on her face, but she didn't pull back. "I would like to stay friends…but still do what we just did… are you ok with that?"

Euphie looked into his bright green eyes. They were really beautiful. She nodded and then finished moving forward pressing her lips to his. A wave of contentment crashed against her and she pushed him down on the bed.

X

Suzaku walked into his little apartment room in the palace. Being the Knight of Zero had some perks after all. He got his own quarters and they were pretty nice, but they were empty and cold. Just like he felt completely empty. Especially after a night surrounded by the Knights of the Rounds. Especially after listening to Gino recount some his latest escapades. Especially after witnessing an intimate moment between two of them. God. His life really was a fucking sick joke. He didn't bother turning on the main light and just flopped down on his bed. After a couple of moments he flicked the lamp on next to his bed and pulled the picture out of the drawer. His vision blurred looking at the smiling pink haired girl poking his cheek playfully. He missed her so fucking much. He missed her laugh. He missed her smile. He missed the way she felt in his arms. His heart ached so fucking much for her. He would give it all up, everything, if he could just be with her. The world was dim without her. He didn't find joy in anything. He felt like a robot going through the motions. Nothing mattered anymore. The only thing he had left to do with his life was deliver the peaceful world that she would have wanted. The one that she had dreamed about. His thumb wiped off the liquid that had dripped from his face onto the picture.


	13. The Witch and ExPrincess

"I haven't heard from you in a while Witch. What can I do for you?" Orpheus asked blandly holding his tooth brush lightly in his hand.

"I need to know if you have heard anything in that network of yours about my sister." Cornelia's voice was strained. She was worn thin and stressed by the whole damn thing.

Orpheus heard the strain in her voice and he actually felt kind of bad for her. Maybe. Meh. Not really his issue though. "Nope. Nothing. I'm guessing you're not making any headway."

"No I'm not. I know you said you were too busy to help me Zevon, but I'm getting desperate. I need to find her or find out what happened to her."

"Look I already have enough on my hands thank you very much." His eyes darted towards the sleeping figure on the bed. "The answer is still no."

Cornelia growled in frustration. "You don't understand! I have to find her. She is too innocent and gentle for this world. She can't make it on her own. This world has too much violence. I know everyone thinks she committed that massacre, but she didn't. She was being controlled by Geass."

As Cornelia rambled on, Orpheus kind of listened. He was actually more interested in watching Euphie sit up and stretch. Her naked body arching beautifully. Something snapped in his mind and he remembered the hair dye lines around her forehead. The toothbrush in his hand dropped. "I have to go." He disconnected the call and walked over to the laptop he was currently borrowing as a tightness started to spread through his chest. No. Can't be. Nope. He pulled up a search engine and typed in Euphemia li Britannia and clicked the images icon. "Holy shit…" he mumbled as the pictures of the ex-princess filled the screen. Delicate face. Large lavender eyes. Soft pink lips. What the actual-

"Hey what are you doing?" Euphie asked as she walked over.

Orpheus's eyes darted over her naked beautiful body and then back at the screen. Well fuck. He didn't see that one coming. How did he not figure this out earlier? He couldn't even think of anything to say.

Euphie froze when she saw the images on the screen. "Oh…"

" _Oh_? Really that's it?" Orpheus said with an edge. "You're fucking Euphemia li Britannia and all you have to say is _oh_? After everything? You say _oh_."

Euphie's pink lips turned downward in a frown, her eyebrows furrowed and those lavender eyes narrowed at him. "I want you to understand something Orpheus. Euphemia li Britannia ceased to exist the moment that Lelouch used his Geass on me at the SAZ. He used me and then killed me. I am no longer that girl. I am Lina Wolfhart and a member of Peace Mark."

Orpheus just stared at her as he digested what she had just said. He felt like he was going crazy. As he ran through it one more time in his mind, something stuck out him and his own mint green eyes narrowed. "What do you mean Lelouch used his Geass on you? Are you telling me that the fucking Emperor of Britannia has a Geass power?"

"Yes. He has the power to give an order to a person with direct eye contact. That's what he did to me when he was going by the persona of Zero or so V2 told me and it makes sense. I would never hurt people like that."

"Well fuck…" Orpheus said quietly. That was also something he hadn't seen coming.

"You're not going to tell anyone about me are you?" Euphie asked with some uncertainty.

Orpheus looked back at her and his eyes again ran over those delectable curves. He sat deliberating with himself. Should he at least tell Cornelia? If he did though, she would more than likely take Euphie away. He had actually grown quite fond of her, but she was a fucking princess. What the actual fuck? "I honestly have no freaking clue what to do…" he mumbled and trailed off. His eyes staring at the wall in front of him. He heard a hmph noise and looked back at her. Her hands were on her hips and she was staring at him defiantly.

"Well you just think about it then I guess. I'm going to go take a shower." Orpheus watched her walk into the bathroom and flinched when the door slammed shut. He went back to staring vaguely at the wall. She had become strong, defiant and free to be who she wanted to be. Cornelia would smother that with her over protectiveness. He couldn't lie to himself either, he wanted this woman. God did he want her now that he'd tasted her. He didn't want to give her up just yet.

Eventually she came back out in a towel and stood in front of him with an annoyed little pout. "Well are you ratting me out or not?"

"No. You're secret is safe with me Wolfey" he held out his hand to her. "Come here please."

Euphie gave him a wary smile as she grasped his hand and let him pull her onto his lap. His hand trailed up her exposed thigh gently. "You seem to be taking this better" she teased lightly and ran her fingers through his hair. Orpheus leaned into the touch.

"Not much I can do about it except pretty much ignore it. You are my friend and really your past doesn't really matter to me. You are who you are and can make your own decisions" Orpheus nipped at her neck as his fingers continued to trail against her thigh slowly moving upwards. His mint green eyes darted up and met her lavender ones. He really did want her despite who she was.

A little whine escaped Euphie as he pressed finger in-between her legs. "Sweet talk will get you everywhere…" she murmured against his lips with a little chuckle as relief flooded through her. She was safe. He wouldn't tell anyone. She gave him soft peck on the lips. Also, the fact that he knew and still wanted her left a bubbly warmth in her chest. He was seriously the fucking best. Orpheus hummed his agreement and pushed his lips harder against hers. He parted his lips instantly when she prodded them and let her tongue slip into his mouth. He caressed it with his gently before pushing his own tongue into her mouth. "Mmm…you seem so friendly this morning…" she purred against his lips before biting down gently on his lower one.

Orpheus let out a quick breath of air and used his thumb to rub her little nub as his fingers continue to press and retreat. "Well what did you expect walking around naked and getting all defiant on me? It makes me want you…" he said in a low voice against her ear before sucking on her earlobe.

Euphie groaned softly and shifted on his lap, so that her back was pressed against his chest and her legs rested on the outside of his. Orpheus trailed his tongue down her neck and bit down gently on her shoulder. His other hand trailed up her body removing the towel and grasped a soft mound squeezing gently. Euphie squirmed against him sending a searing fire straight to his groin as her ass rubbed against it. He groaned and moved his fingers faster and twirling occasionally. Euphie's head fell back on his shoulder and her breathing picked up as she rocked against him. She could feel him harden against her and it sent a buzzing electric feeling straight to her nether regions. "Ahh…Orpheus right there… keep doing that with your fingers…" she said breathlessly as she arched and shifted her hips in a rocking motion. She reached back and pushed her fingers into his long thick hair.

Orpheus continued for a little bit longer before it became too much. He started to pick her up and winced. Fuck. Yep his arm still had a bullet wound in it. He glared at the offending appendage. Euphie watched him with a giggle and gracefully stood. She sauntered over to the bed and reclined at while giving him a little sexy grin. Orpheus stood up and removed his restricting boxers before settling between her long milky pale thighs. "So…?" Orpheus gave her a little shit eating grin.

Euphie grinned back. "Take me however you want…"

Orpheus couldn't stop the little twitch her words elicited. He urgently flipped her over, so that perfect plump ass was up in the air. He let his hands run over it and then grasped her hips. He thrust in in one go causing a groan from him and a low moan from her. Fuck. Having sex was fucking amazing. God had he been missing out. He pulled out slightly and slammed back in. Euphie arched her hips with a whine. He gripped her hips harder and repeated the action. Over and over again. Fuck it felt so fucking good. He trailed his fingers down her body until he was rubbing that lovely little numb again. Euphie cried out at the over stimulation and pulsed around him. Orpheus groaned and took deep breaths trying to stave off his own orgasm, but it was tough. He didn't have much stamina built up in this particular activity. He leaned over quickly and nipped at her shoulder as he slowed down his movements. His hands ran over her smooth skin trying to memorize the feel of it. He didn't want to give this up. Not yet. He felt her shudder beneath him and little noises escaped her soft mouth. Orpheus took a deep breath and pulled himself up again. He repositioned his hands on her hips and picked up his speed one more time. With a low groan he pulled out and released himself on her back.

As Orpheus pulled out, Euphie fell to the bed with a pleased sigh. Orpheus plopped down next to her and pushed the hair out of her face. Euphie gave him an amused smile. Orpheus took a couple deep breaths before pushing himself off of the bed. Euphie trailed him to the bathroom with her eyes. He came back a moment later with a wet rag and washed off her back. Careful to not irritate the healing tattoo any further.

He chucked the rag back towards the bathroom and laid back down next to her. Euphie gave him a quizzical look. "Aren't you going to go rinse off or something?"

"In a moment." Orpheus turned to look at her. "Your sister, Cornelia, is really worried about you. Maybe you should call her or something…"

Euphie's brows furrowed in confusion. "You know Cornelia?"

"Yeah. We've worked together a couple times trying to capture V2, but she's more concerned about locating you at the moment."

Euphie made a sour face and then instantly felt guilty. Of course Cornelia would be worried about her. She knew very well how much her sister cared about her, but would Cornelia try to lock her up again? That just wasn't acceptable…not at all. They laid in silence as she argued silently with herself and then the guilt won out. She couldn't let Cornelia live like that. "Do you have her number?"

Orpheus got up and grabbed his phone. He pulled up Cornelia's number labeled under purple witch and handed it to her. Euphie hesitantly accepted the phone. "I'm going to go shower, so you can have some privacy." He ruffled her hair and walked into the bathroom.

Euphie swallowed and pressed the call button.

X

After Cornelia punched the wall a couple of times, she slid to the floor cradling her head. Guilford watched her with concern, but didn't approach her. Cornelia was unstable at the moment and he didn't want to get in the crossfire, but he really was very concerned. Her hair was disheveled and she had dark circles under her eyes. He just hoped that they would finally find Euphemia to put an end to this self-destruction.

"Cornelia…" he started tentatively after a while.

"Stop. I just need a moment" Cornelia said in a firm voice. She had really been hoping for something, anything, from that stupid Zevon. He really was a brat and wasn't useful at all. Stupid annoying arrogant piece of- Her thoughts were interrupted by her phone buzzing next to her. She glared at the offending piece when Zevon's name popped up. "What!?"

"Cornelia…is that you?" Euphie started with a timid voice. Her sister sounded absolutely livid.

Cornelia's heart stopped and she almost dropped the phone. That voice. She would know that voice anywhere. "Euphie?" she whispered in disbelief.

There was a sad chuckle. "I'm not Euphie anymore. I gave that name up. I go by Lina now. It's nice to hear your voice again though."

"Oh my god Euphie! Are you ok? What happened?" Cornelia rambled more and more questions, but then paused. "Wait why are you on Orpheus Zevon's phone?" Her tone turned suspicious.

"I've been living with him for a while, but he didn't know who I was until today."

"That asshole! Is he a complete idiot!? How did he not know her you are?"

"Hair dye my dear can do wonders."

They talked a little bit more. Well mostly Cornelia fired off question after question. Euphie answered them to the best of her ability without giving too much away. She was getting a little frustrated though that Cornelia kept using her name. It brought up to many foul emotions that she wanted nothing to do with.

"Euphie where are you? I'm going to come get you."

"No you will not. I'm doing fine where I am and for the last time, my name is not Euphie anymore. That girl is dead. You can refer to me as Lina." Euphie's voice was stern and she really hoped her sister would get the picture.

Cornelia blinked and then heavily frowned as anger flared through her chest. "What the hell do you mean no!?"

"I will not let you lock me up again. Ever. I can take care of myself. I don't need your help."

Cornelia felt the fight drain out of her instantly. Euphie didn't want her. Her precious angel wanted nothing to do with her…but she couldn't let that happen. She wouldn't. She needed to see her to make sure she was real and alive and fine. "Please let me see you…I want to help. I won't lock you up anywhere I promise. Where are you?"

Euphie sighed and blinked back her tears. She was not some fancy prancy spoiled princess anymore. She had goals and had promised Orpheus she would help him. "One day maybe, but know that I am fine. If you want to help me, go back to looking for V2 and let us know if you find out any information." Euphie glanced up at Orpheus as he came back into the room. He sat down on the bed and pulled her against his body resting his chin against her head.

"I don't understand…" Cornelia grumbled with annoyance. "Euphie what happened to you? Why do you care about finding V2? Why can't I see you?"

Euphie took a deep breath. "Because I am not your sister Euphie anymore. I'm looking for V2 for my own questions and because I promised Orpheus to help him anyway I can. Cornelia you need to let Euphemia li Britannia go."

Cornelia blinked back angry tears. "You are my sister. Always. Don't say things like that."

"I'm going to hang up now Cornelia. We will talk again later. I do love you though. Don't forget that."

Cornelia was about to say more, but the phone disconnected. She tried calling back, but there was no answer. Eventually she gave up and threw her phone across the room as angry tears fell down her face. Guilford figuring it was safe enough ventured over and wrapped her in his arms.

X

Euphie buried her face into the cotton t-shirt that Orpheus was wearing. They stayed silent for a while. Orpheus rubbing soothing circles on her back. Euphie taking time to calm down from her emotional turmoil. Eventually she peeked up at him. "So what are we going to do today?"

"Well. I wanted to go back to the base and check on everything. There's some wounded as well that need some tending. You could probably help with that…Some of them aren't going to make it and are in a lot of pain…"

Euphie took the hint and nodded. She pushed her conversation and thoughts of Cornelia out of her mind. She had a job to do. She stood up and quickly dressed. "Alright. Let's do this."

X

Marrybell sat on the doctor office bed as they poked and prodded at the wound in her chest. The incessant beeping from the machines was really starting to become annoying. Luckily the bullet hit her sternum and no vital organs were hit. The pain was dulled by the pain meds that they had pumped into her system. The downside is she was a little loopy and out of it.

One thought that rang through her muddled mind however was that Oldrin didn't shoot her. She never would. They were soul mates. Someone had used a Geass of some kind to trick her. It made her furious. People were just disgusting and they needed to be learn how to obey rules. No more rebels or traitors. No more impersonating other people. Lelouch was right. If you leave people to their own devices, they will destroy everything good in the world. Marybell would fix the world with her brother by removing these scum. They would either bend to her will or she would eliminate them.


	14. Gentle Angel of Death

_**Author note -** I apologize if this story is kind of bland. It sounded better in my head. Maybe I'm just not feeling it because there is enough light hearted yaoi? Meh who knows. Anyways, I hate leaving stories unfinished, so I will finish this one eventually. However, I probably won't spend a lot of time proof reading and might power through it. Quick story progression anyone? I apologize for any errors. Thanks for reading and hopefully you get some enjoyment or something out of this story._

* * *

Euphie stayed silent most of the way to the warehouse base having inner debates within herself. Slowly leading her to the assumption that she was somewhat bat shit crazy and she didn't really know who she was anymore. She really shouldn't have talked to Cornelia like at all. She didn't want to be Euphemia li Britannia because all she could associate with the name was blood. Blood on her hands. Blood everywhere and it sent her anxiety shooting through the freaking roof. It left her skin crawling and her stomach knotting. Euphemia li Britannia was a monster and she couldn't refute that little fact. It didn't matter if she wasn't in control of the situation. She was the one who pulled the trigger. It was her face that was branded as Princess Massacre. As her lungs shrunk and her vision swam, Euphie screwed her eyes shut to everything. She wasn't that person. She refused. She would not identify with that person. Never again.

Orpheus looked at the woman in the car next to him slightly shaking and breathing like she was in the tiniest fucking box in the world. He frowned and averted his eyes back to the road. "You alright over there?" When she didn't respond, Orpheus lightly nudged her shoulder. "Hey you."

"Huh?" Euphie mumbled distractedly.

"What's going on in that pretty little head of yours?"

Euphie blinked and took deep breaths. "N-nothing. Don't worry about it."

Orpheus gave her a skeptical look and Euphie forced a smile to her face. Orpheus let the matter drop for the time being as they were pulling up to the base anyways.

Euphie had to fight back the urge to run for the hills when Orpheus brought her to the makeshift hospital. There was blood everywhere and pain and fuck it was suffocating. She was about to leave and hide in a dark corner hoping the ground would swallow her up, but then a boy younger than herself called out to her.

"W-wait! P-please s-stay with me…" the boy whispered. His face twisted with pain. "You remind me of my sister…"

Shit how the hell was she supposed to run away from this boy that was bleeding through his bandages. Euphie swallowed and shut her eyes trying to re-center herself. She could do this. She had to do this. She forced a calming smile on her face and sat on the little stool next to the bed. "Alright."

Euphie spent the next little bit talking to the boy. It was obvious that he wasn't going to make it, so she did what made the most sense and Geassed the poor lad. The pain on his face instantly lifted and he talked a lot easier about his life.

Euphie let him. This is how she would atone. She would ease this boy's suffering and anybody else that needed. She would let people slip into death peacefully without pain. Without worry. Without a care in the world. She would remember them. Their faces. Their lives. Their hopes and dreams. With this new determination, she visited the other fading members and took away their pain.

Orpheus watched occasionally and really couldn't fathom how this woman could exist. He watched the soft lavender eyes. He watched the gentle smiles. He watched pain twisted faces fade instantly and dull eyes brighten with a fleeting hope. He knew that he shouldn't fall in love with this woman, but she was fucking beautiful and wonderful. She was like some gentle angel of death that led people to their deaths without any worries. He was drawn from his inner musings when the warning alarm sounded. He swore under his breaths and went to collect his wide eyed wolf.

When they got to center location it was a fucking mad house. People were running around and hopping in knightmare frames. Grabbing whatever they could for weapons. Vehicles were pulled around and people were running back into the makeshift hospital trying to collect the wounded.

Orpheus grabbed a passing soldier by the arm. "What's happening?"

"The Britannian Empire is paying us a visit. Be productive and do something. They figure we have about 5 minutes before the first strike and 20 before the Damocles is within firing range."

The man tore free and Orpheus let him go. "Fuck." He looked back at Euphie and he had never seen her eyes so freaking huge and terrified. He grabbed her chin and pulled her face to look at him. "Wolfey you go help with the wounded and get the fuck out of here. I will find you."

"W-what about you?" Euphie stammered as her heart threatened to break out of her rib cage.

"I'm going to get in that Glinda Knight knightmare I stole and provide cover for anyone retreating. Now get the hell out of here."

Euphie nodded dumbly and watched as Orpheus ran off towards the knightmare he was using. Euphie blinked and took a step back towards where they were hauling off the wounded. She turned and started running towards them. She glanced back over her shoulder and watched Orpheus leave the building in the knightmare frame. She stumbled to a stop when she heard the sounds of fighting outside. She turned to look out the open doors as smoke filled the air outside. She took a small step back and squeaked when someone grabbed her arm.

"Hey girl can you pilot a knightmare?"

Euphie looked up into the face of a tall man with a black mullet and glasses. She blinked twice as she processed his words. "W-what?"

"I asked if you could pilot a knightmare. We have more here than able bodied pilots as most are wounded. We need all the help we can get or the wounded and non-fighters won't be able to escape. So can you pilot?"

Euphie glanced at the people fleeing through the back of the building in vehicles. Her eyes landed on the young boy she had talked to earlier. She swallowed and looked back at the man. She took a deep breath to cleanse her mind. She needed to save these people. She had to. There was no other options. "Yes. I can pilot a knightmare. Is there any without guns?"

The man pushed his glasses up and grabbed her hands running back towards the knightmare frames. "Meet the Artemis 2. It has a vibration sword and shield. Do what you can little lady." With that the man left her and she watched him leave before looking at the cockpit of Artemis.

"Well here goes nothing…" Euphie mumbled before climbing in and powering it up. After she familiarized herself with the system, Euphie joined the fray. It was chaotic and she definitely wasn't ready for it, but she really didn't have a choice. She focused on protecting the retreating vehicles.

She wasn't actually doing half bad until the Lancelot cut through the Peace Mark knightmare frame that was intercepting it in front of her. That was when her entire body and mind felt like shutting down as she watched the Lancelot approaching her. She was connected to Peace Mark's communication line and was only able to manage a quiet "Orpheus…help…" Before the Lancelot was on her and her body jerked at the impact. Her mind briefly registered the pain shooting through her body.

Orpheus was in the middle of his own little skirmish when he heard the whispered plea. He scanned the area quickly for the knightmare that Euphie was in. When he saw the Lancelot panic shot through him. "Fuck. Wolfey don't you dare let that asshole kill you! Hold on. I'm coming." Orpheus tried to get rid of the Britannian knightmare he was currently engaged with and tried to ignore the growing panic at the lack of response from the Artemis that was crashing to the ground.

Suzaku didn't care about these people. He was separated from it all. He was just going through the motions and he would destroy this enemy knightmare without giving two shits about this whole damn mess. He was about to deliver the finishing blow when the cockpit opened and he looked onto the blue hair. He froze as he looked at the face. He knew that face. It was her face even if it was covered in blood. This woman looked just like her. His heart stopped and clenched. He just stared as she stumbled from the seat and looked at him with soft lavender eyes. "Euphie…" It was Euphie. It had to be. Before Suzaku could have a full mental breakdown the Lancelot was thrown away from the blue haired woman. She was scooped up by another enemy knightmare. "No!" Suzaku raged and flew after them. He needed to see her again. He needed to be sure. Unfortunately for him he kept having to put up with annoying pests. His anger was getting the better of him and he barely registered Lelouch talking to him.

"Lancelot! Withdraw!" Lelouch spoke loudly to him. "The Damocles is within firing range."

Suzaku blinked and watched the knightmare frame that was hiding the blue haired woman inside its cockpit fighting off another Britannian knightmare frame. "You can't fire the FLEIJA" Suzaku said quickly with panic. They couldn't fire it. What if it killed this woman that looked like Euphie…? He couldn't let it happen. He tried to get close to the other knightmare again.

"What? We are firing the FLEIJA to get rid of these terrorists Kururugi" Lelouch said blandly slightly bored.

"NO! You can't! Please. She can't die!"

Lelouch blinked from his little throne on the Damocles at Suzaku's panicked voice. He glanced at CC next to him who only shrugged.

"Don't listen to him my Emperor. They all need to be destroyed" Marrybell growled on his other side.

Lelouch glanced at his crazy ass half-sister next to him. A slight frown on his face as his eyes skimmed over the bandage on her chest. Too bad that bullet didn't actually kill this nut.

"What are you talking about?" Lelouch asked his Knight of Zero.

"I just…" Suzaku frantically tried to process the information in his brain. If he said that Euphie was alive over this open channel, he would sound like a freaking lunatic…which he might be, but it didn't need to be advertised. He took a deep breath and watched as the knightmare carrying the woman get farther away from him. "Just trust me on this your majesty and I'll explain it to you later. Let the knightmare frames take care of this rabble."

Lelouch let out an irritated sigh. "Fine. Clean up your own mess then."

"Of course." Suzaku tried to chase after the fleeing knightmare. He chased it into a surrounding forest and saw it abandoned on the forest ground with no sight of the two occupants. He swore and destroyed the offending hunk of machinery. He scanned the surrounding area, but with all the surrounding foliage it was pretty useless. He was eventually forced to return to the Damocles when Lelouch ordered him to.

X

Orpheus didn't know how much more his heart could physically take. He could hear the Lancelot in the forest around them as he huddled under a convenient little cave made from the roots of a tree with a passed out woman who was bleeding badly. He did what he could for the wound on her back and the cut on her head. Swearing silently to himself. Hopefully these wounds didn't scar too badly. How she even ended up in a fucking knightmare frame was beyond him. She was not ready for that shit nor was she ready to go up against the love of her life in a battle of life and death. I mean come on. That was messed up.

He waited a while after the forest around them fell silent. When he was sure that the Lancelot was actually gone, he crawled from their hiding spot and fished out his phone. Who the hell could he call anyways? Most of the people that they were with were probably dead by now. Shit. What a shitty day.

X

Lelouch sat at the table with his hands resting calmly clasped together on the table top. "So care to explain the little panic episode."

Suzaku looked up at him. His emerald eyes locking with the violet of the Emperor. "I saw Euphie."

Lelouch's eyes got wide for a second. Out of all the things he thought would come from Suzaku that was not one of them. "Euphie's dead Suzaku. You watched me shoot her. You watched her die. Why would you say you saw her?"

"Because I did!" Suzaku stood up and slammed his hands on the table. "I saw her! I know her face. I know her eyes."

Lelouch was quiet for a while wondering what caused his friend's mind to snap. "Did she have long pink hair that only Euphie would have?"

"The woman's hair was blue, but I know what I saw Lelouch" Suzaku pleaded as tears pooled up in the corner of his eyes.

"Suzaku…she probably just looked like Euphie…we both know that she's dead. Don't torture yourself like this…" Lelouch stood up elegantly and walked over to his brunette friend that was shaking and sobbing.

"It was really was her though…" Suzaku's voice shook as Lelouch pulled him into a hug. He wrapped his arms around the slim Emperor and clung to him like his sanity depended on it because at that moment, it kind of did.

X

 _Suzaku laid on top of the hill looking up at the clouds in the sky. He slowly reached his hand out until it found the delicate smooth hand of the person lying next to him. He twined their fingers together and let out a pleasant sigh. A little giggle drew his attention to the side and he turned his head to look at the delicate regal face next to him with large lavender eyes. The face framed with soft rose pink hair._

 _The woman sat up and stared down at him. Her white angel wings spread out behind her as she climbed on top of him. "I love you Suzaku." Euphie whispered as she cupped his face gently._

 _His own hands found their place on her curvy hips and he hummed his agreement. "I love you too." He smiled fondly as she descended her lips onto his. The faint taste and smell of strawberries invaded his senses as his hands tightened their hold. Euphie's fingers slipped into his hair as she deepened the kiss. Her warm wet tongue glided across his lower lip and with a pleasant sigh he opened up to her._

 _Her hips rotated against him causing a little moan. He slowly pushed his hands up her skirt tracing against the smoothness of her thighs slowly creeping up. Euphie broke the kiss and slowly started kissing down his jaw and neck. Suzaku's eyes fluttered shut and he rolled his head to the side giving her more room. His hips lifting slightly for more friction…God this was everything he needed in the world._

 _Suzaku's eyes flew open as sharp pain exploded on his neck. He panicked and pulled Euphie away from his neck. He stared at her in terror as her white wings weren't there anymore and were replaced with black wings shedding black feathers. Her hair was short and changed to dark blue. Her soft lavender eyes were red. She smirked at him as his blood dripped from her mouth. Her tongue ran over little fangs tasting him. "Hmm…you are mine Su-za-ku…Always..." She grabbed his chin again firmly. Suzaku could feel little claws digging into his face and he squirmed as panic flooded his system. He screamed again as her fangs sank deep into the tender flesh of his neck._

Suzaku bolted upright in bed breathing heavily. A cold sweat covered his tan skin. His heart was beating faster than it had any right to be beating. Suzaku cradled his hand and tried to calm himself down. It was just a dream…just a dream…


	15. Princess Massacre Version 2

_**Author note - And we're back. Sorry for the delayed update. Got distracted by other things, but I don't like leaving things unfinished so I will start plucking away at this story again.** _

* * *

Euphie slowly became aware of a gentle rumbling beneath her. Her body ached and it felt like her mind was swimming through thick molasses. She opened her eyes slowly and then screwed them shut again as the bright light reverberated painfully through her skull. She tried to come back to full consciousness, but it was a losing battle and eventually the rocking of vehicle lulled her back into oblivion.

The next time she woke up, Euphie was lying in a bed. A freaking soft bed. It was like lying on a cloud. She let her hands trail against the soft cotton as she tried to figure out where exactly she was. Her head still throbbed like a bitch and she tentatively touched it. A new bandage was wrapped around it and she frowned trying to recall what had happened. A jolt of panic shot through her and she sat up straight. Black spots assaulted her vision as the world tilted.

"Woah. Hey easy there." Strong hands gripped her arms gently and in her panic she fought against them trying to break free. "Shit. It's just me, Orpheus. Shh. Calm down." Orpheus had really no clue what to do and didn't want to freak her out anymore, so he removed his hands and let them float tentatively in the air.

Euphie tried to calm down, but she still scooted away trying to re-center herself. She buried her face into her hands and tried to remember everything, but fuck it was hard with how much her head was pounding and how small her lungs felt. After what felt like an eternity, she slowly removed her hands from her face and looked at a very frowny Orpheus. "W-what happened?" Euphie frowned at how shaky and scratchy her voice sounded.

Orpheus gave her a wry smile. "A lot. Namely you getting knocked out again. If you could quit getting injured, that would be great for my mental health. Here take these and we'll take it one step at a time." Orpheus handed her two little white pills he fished out of bottle and a glass of water.

Euphie let out a sigh of relief and with shaky hands accepted the pain killers really hoping they would alleviate the massive feeling of an elephant sitting on her skull. Despite the lump in her throat, Euphie managed to get the pills down. She handed the glass back.

Orpheus sighed at the large inquisitive eyes. "First I have a question for you. Why did you end up in the pilot seat of a knightmare?"

Euphie averted her eyes and fidgeted with the blanket on her lap. "They needed my help…" Orpheus swallowed when large pleading eyes looked back at him. "I had to help protect the wounded…"

Orpheus gently pushed some wayward strands out of her face. He let his fingers trail down the soft pale cheek with a feather light touch. "Of course you had to, but it was dangerous Wolfey. You almost got yourself killed. I don't know what I would do if I lost you…" Really Orpheus didn't know what he would do. When he thought she was about to die, his heart was attacked with a pain that he never wanted to feel again. He couldn't lose another woman to that kind of end. It would break him.

Euphie couldn't stop the shame she felt when she looked into Orpheus's face. His mint eyes were filled with unmasked worry and the dark circles underneath only emphasized the look. Euphie reached out and wove their fingers together. "I'm sorry… I.." Euphie swallowed. "I don't know what happened. When I saw the Lancelot...it was like my whole body shut off…I couldn't…" Euphie's voice broke as tears escaped her.

Orpheus quickly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his chest. "Hey. It's ok. You're ok." He rubbed soothing circles on her back.

"What happened to…Suzaku?" Euphie asked in a hesitant small voice.

Orpheus's hand paused for a moment. "As far as I know he made it out alive as well. I wouldn't expect anything else from him." The room filled with silence that continued to stretch as Orpheus debated on saying something that he might regret. "What would you do if he recognized you?"

Euphie was silent as she clung to the man in front of her. What would she do? That was a good question and one she didn't have an answer for. She still loved Suzaku and would do anything to get it back to the way it was before she died, but that wasn't possible anymore. They had both changed so much. He was a monster in her eyes now. Even if she still loved him, she didn't want to touch him or be touched by him. Hell she didn't even want to look into his forest green eyes because she was afraid of what she would find in their depths. "I don't know…I…I don't want to think about. I don't want to think about any of this right now." Euphie moved her head away from where it was hiding against Orpheus's strong chest, so she could look into his soothing eyes. Her head still throbbed and felt murky. Her body ached painfully. She could feel a particular painful sting running up the right side of her back. "I don't want to think about anything. Not the world. Not the pain. Not Suzaku. Nothing. Please help me forget just for a little bit" Euphie pleaded with large watery eyes.

Orpheus swallowed as he looked into her pleading and broken expression. His heart beat painfully in his chest. He just wanted her to be happy. He wanted her to be safe. Hell he just wanted to see her smiling and hopeful again. He cupped her cheeks softly and rubbed his thumbs across he overly pale cheeks. "Ok." He leaned in to kiss those pouting twitching lips lovingly. Euphie let out a little sigh and her warm breath caressed his wanting lips. "Just tell me how I can make it better…" he whispered against her slightly chapped lips.

Euphie clung to his biceps tightly as her body shook. She leaned in for another kiss and whined softly at the contact of his soft lips on hers. "This. Just…keep doing this… Help me forget…" Euphie moved one hand to cling to the back of his neck to keep him in place as she kissed him. She needed this. She needed Orpheus. He was strong and caring and he was safe. She trusted him completely. She desperately needed more of him at this moment. She choked back a noise when he willingly parted his lips for her probing tongue. She tugged at him needily as she plundered his mouth. One of his hands squeezed at her hip on its journey of caressing her body.

She broke mouth contact breathing heavily and looked into his foggy greens. His sun kissed cheeks were flushed pink and his lips were parted breathing shallowly. "Orpheus I want…" Euphie chewed on her lip not knowing exactly how to phrase this. "Will you…um…" She ran her hand down his chest and stopped on the front his pants to press gently and suggestively. A little tingle ran up from her fingers when she felt the slightly hardened flesh.

Orpheus's eyes went wide before fluttering shut when she stroked firmly. His breathing hitched as he let his forehead fall to her shoulder. He groaned when her fingers undid the fastening of his pants. His extremely uncomfortable pants. He should stop this. He really should, but dammit. He was a man and she was beautiful…but she was injured… Crap. He grabbed her wrist gently and looked into her now flushed face. "Wolfey, you're injured…I don't want to hurt you…" He said in a strained whisper.

Euphie gave him a warm loving little smile. "You could never hurt me Orpheus…Please…I just need to feel you…" Euphie cupped his face and kissed him again.

Orpheus groaned at the feeling and he let go over her wrist. She needed him and he needed her. He would do this for the both of them, but he was going to be extra freaking careful. No need to reopen her wounds. His fingers quickly went to work on unbuttoning the shirt she was wearing and he gently inched it off of her. He kissed down her flushed cheek to her delicate neck as her arms wrapped around his shoulders. He gently lowered her to the bed and she lifted her hips to allow him to remove the loose sweatpants that she was wearing. Euphie tugged at his own shirt and he happily obliged her discarding it along with his own jeans and briefs.

Euphie raised a delicate eyebrow and giggled when he fished out a condom. He just rolled his eyes trying to hide his embarrassment, but the fierce heat on his cheeks probably gave it away. Yes. Ok, so maybe he went and bought condoms recently. It was the responsible thing to do. Euphie wrapped her soft fingers around his neck and pulled him back down to kiss her. Orpheus was more than willing to let her have her way with him. He even obliged her when she tried to coax his tongue into playing with hers. Her milky thighs wrapped around his waist and he groaned into her mouth as he gently entered into her. Euphie's breathing faltered and she tilted her head back to breathe better. Orpheus moved to nipping and kissing at her neck as he continued to rock forward. Euphie's thighs tightening and loosening around him. Her nails gently scratching at his upper back.

When he was all the way in, he propped himself up to look into her beautiful flushed face. Her eyes were scrunched shut and her mouth was open breathing slowly. "Are you doing ok?" Orpheus asked and kissed her jaw. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her. Her back was probably hurting. Her head was probably throbbing.

"I-I'm ok…" Euphie whispered and smiled sweetly up at him. "Just be gentle with me, ok?"

Orpheus let out a little chuckle at the teasing glint in her expressive eyes. He gave her a little peck on her cute little nose. "Of course." He rolled his hips slowly and Euphie's eyes fluttered shut again as she inhaled.

"Yeah like that…" she said in a breathless purr.

Orpheus obliged her in every sense of the word. He listened to her breathing. He listened to what her body was telling him. He would adjust at the slightest look of pain on her face. It was probably the slowest sex he had ever had in his life, but it was also the sweetest. As in it wasn't just for pleasure or love, but it was for comfort and security. He had never felt so connected to Euphie as he did at that very moment. Everything he did was about her and how it made her feel. Yeah it felt good for him too, but that was just an additional benefit. The way she moaned softly, the way her limbs clung to him tightly and then loosened, it was beautiful and he felt needed. He felt wanted and hell it felt nice. He lost some control after a while and couldn't stop the hungry need inside of him. Euphie groaned and arched slightly as he pushed hard into her. Her legs clenched around him and he groaned in return. He couldn't stop the uptick in speed. His body was strung too tight and he needed to find relief. His toes curled and Euphie clung to him. She arched and let out a long moan with his name floating with it. He bit down gently on her neck and groaned into it as her muscles clenched and unclenched around him coaxing out his own release. He released her neck after a moment and rolled over next to her.

He brushed the blue strands from her face and studied it for any lingering signs of pain. "Did I hurt you at all?" She rolled her head and cracked open her eyes. A coy little smile played at her lips and she shook her head no.

"It was wonderful…" she whispered and let her eyes float closed again. "I'm tired though… Might take a nap…"

"Ok" Orpheus said. After a moment of studying her face, he sat up and gave her a quick peck on her cheek. He cleaned up and at least slipped on his briefs before curling up against her under the sheet. He could go for a nap as well. He was freaking exhausted after staying up all last night watching over her.

"Really!? I mean come on. That's my bed…" a feminine voice woke them a little bit later. Orpheus quickly sat up taking the sheet with him. His face flushed horribly. Euphie squeaked in surprise and tried to cover herself up as she looked at the feminine mirror image of the man she was sleeping with. Oldrin was standing in the doorway to her room with folded arms looking thoroughly disgusted. "I can't believe you two…ugh…" she made a disgusted noise before slamming the door shut leaving the two on the bed in silence.

X

Suzaku was still in a state of full blown meltdown, so Lelouch did what he thought was best. He forced a vacation on Suzaku and sent his nutty ass half-sister to deal with any opposition. A part of him hoping that she just wouldn't come back. Was it cruel? Yeah it was pretty cruel, but he had done worse to siblings that he actually knew and cared about. Marybell might as well be a distant relative with how much he actually knew her personally. Their childhoods were actually similar in a sense. Dead mother. Living away from the rest of the royal family. Yada yada. It still didn't change the fact that she was a thorn in his side. She would need to go eventually for the world he was creating.

Suzaku didn't put up any kind of resistance. His mind was actually pretty shaken and he was being plagued by lavender eyes. He kept having flashbacks of his life with his sweet Euphie, but they were clouding with the woman he saw emerge from that cockpit. Was that really Euphie? How could that even be possible? He watched her die on that bed. That death had shaped his life. It had changed him into what he was today. If it didn't actually happen, how did he even begin to identify with himself anymore? He was having an identity crisis and had no idea how to pull himself back together.

He laid in his bed staring at his ceiling in a daze with dark shadows under his eyes. Lelouch was sitting in a chair near the window reading a book quietly. CC was sitting cross-legged on the bed next to him running her thin pale fingers through his hair. No one talked, but that was ok. Suzaku needed the silence. He also needed the emotional stability that the two of them provided.

X

Two pairs of mint green eyes and one set of lavender watched with some horror as Marybell wiped out a whole city with the Damocles and the FLEIJA. They were slightly horrified by the little speech Marybell had given. She was fucking crazy. Euphie felt even more horrified when she found out that Marybell had been rebranded as the new Princess Massacre. It was hard watching her sister going down such an evil dark path of destruction. Especially with that name. Was that how people remembered her? Is that why they gave the name to Marrybell? Did they see them on the same level of evilness? Her anxiety flew through the roof watching the news and her stomach boiled violently. She quickly excused herself and bolted to the bathroom to expel the lunch she had just eaten. Hell even whatever was left from breakfast tore up through her throat.

Orpheus was a step behind her and was rubbing soothing circles on her back as he helped keep her wayward hair out of her face. After heaving out everything that was there, Euphie pulled the handled and flushed her disgust down the toilet. She slumped against Orpheus exhausted. Her body was still shaking with the residual tremors and tears still escaped through her clenched eyes. The gash on her back screamed about the abuse it was just subjected to. Her head was throbbing. Orpheus whispered soothing words at her, but she couldn't focus on anything. Her mind felt shattered and the pieces were just clanking around her head.

She must have eventually dozed off. The gentle kiss on her temple brought her back to the world of the living. She blinked and pushed herself away from the comforting warmth around her. She looked into Orpheus's concerned face.

"Hey" he said gently as he ran his thumb over her cheek. "Feeling better?"

"Yeah" Euphie cringed. Her throat burned. Her breath also probably smelled rancid and she felt bad for forcing Orpheus to endure it this closely. She slowly eased herself up to her feet with Orpheus's steady hands. She took a deep breath and reached for her toothbrush. One step at a time. Orpheus wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his cheek gently against her head as she brushed her teeth. They locked eyes through the mirror and he offered her a small smile. She returned the smile around the toothbrush in her mouth. When she was done, she turned in his arms and buried her face into his chest as she wrapped her arms around his back. "Thanks…for being here…"

"Of course. Now we should probably go check on Oldrin to make sure she isn't having a little breakdown of her own."

"Yeah" Euphie agreed. She linked her fingers with Orpheus and let him lead her out into the main room of the apartment. They both froze as they watched a very irate blonde packing bags and cursing under her breath.

"Oldrin what in the name of God are you doing?" Orpheus asked.

Oldrin stopped and looked at them with hard eyes. "I'm going to go talk with Marybell. She obviously needs someone to talk some sense into her."

"Are you insane!?" Orpheus cried out and dropped Euphie's hand to stomp up to his sister. "She will kill you or worse make you some mindless pawn!"

"I have to do something! That person is not Marybell!" Oldrin cried back as she gestured to the TV. "She isn't like that! I have to save her from whatever is going on in that pretty little head of hers!"

"I can't let you do that!" Orpheus grabbed at her arms to stop her frantic packing. "She isn't going to welcome you with open arms. The moment she sees you, she'll put a bullet through you!"

"She will not! You don't know anything about our relationship!" Oldrin yelled back and tore away from his grasp.

Orpheus looked conflicted. Hell he felt conflicted and he sighed in defeat. He would be lucky if Oldrin didn't kill him on the spot from what he was about to say. "About that…" He started and swallowed hard when he looked into the fiery depths of his sister's eyes. "She may have a different opinion now about you because she may believe that you shot her…" Orpheus usually didn't get scared, but he was pretty terrified at the moment.

Oldrin's eyebrows furrowed and her mouth frowned heavily. "And why would she think that?" Oldrin asked slowly in a deadly little voice.

"I may have used my Geass to impersonate you so she didn't shoot me. I than shot her instead and fled. I didn't expect her to survive in honesty…"

Euphie gasped and covered her mouth. That was just awful. She watched as everything moved in slow motion. Oldrin launched herself at Orpheus and they both tumbled over the couch to the ground with a loud crash.


	16. Minty Green Confrontations

Orpheus held his arms up to block his face from the oncoming assault. Dang Oldrin could pack a punch. He heard Euphie calling to them from the side, but couldn't focus on anything except the look of death directed at him. He made an oomph noise when that iron fist collided with his face. Orpheus spit out a little bit of blood as he tried to break free from the furious woman that had him pinned to the ground.

When Euphie saw the blood, she lost her composure. Not that she had a lot to begin with. She wrapped her arm around Oldrin's neck and yanked the woman back away from man below her. She gritted her teeth at the slight pain in her back. The momentum caused them both to fall backwards. The air was knocked out of Euphie's lungs. "Enough!" she screamed. "You don't need to feel like beating up Orpheus anymore so stop and calm down!" The ceiling above her tinted red and she only loosed her grip when she felt Oldrin fall slack against her.

Orpheus was sitting on the floor watching them as he wiped blood from his split lip. "Wolfey…" he started in a small scolding voice. "You shouldn't have done that."

Euphie stared at him defiantly with tears in her eyes. "I had too! I couldn't watch her hurt you!" Euphie wiped at her tears before she wiggled completely free from Oldrin who was sitting stunned on the floor staring at her bruised fists. Euphie crawled over to Orpheus and carefully cupped his cheeks. Orpheus just continued to stare at her exhaustedly and once Euphie was convinced he hadn't suffered any major injuries, she wrapped her arms around him.

Orpheus sighed and patted her back. He looked over her shoulder to stare at his sister who gave him such a defeated look. Her minty eyes misted over and tears escaping from them.

"How could you do that to me Orpheus...? You don't know anything about me and Marybell… I love her and now she thinks I shot her… I just… why?" Oldrin sobbed into her hands.

Orpheus's eyes went wide for a moment. "You love her? Like… as in-"

"Yes! You dumb blonde! We were in love with each other!"

"Oh…" Orpheus said dumbly. Ok. Now he really feels like the World's biggest dick. "I just did it automatically, so she wouldn't shoot me on sight. I didn't know that she and you were… like that…"

"That's why I have to go and talk to her! It's my responsibility to stop her. I left her and look what happened. She's confused and she's brainwashed herself. If I don't save her, no one else will" Oldrin said miserably and leaned back against the sofa.

Euphie stared at her with wide eyes. Oldrin was right and Euphie could fully understand. It was her responsibility to stop him. Just like Oldrin loved Marybell, Euphie loved Suzaku. They couldn't just leave them to their own devices or the World would surely fall into further chaos. Euphie looked back at Orpheus and the hold on she had on his shoulders tightened. "She's right Orpheus. This has to stop. We have to stop them. All of us. We can't run away from this anymore…I can't run away anymore… I need to stop Suzaku and Lelouch."

Oldrin gave her a deep appraising glance and her brows furrowed. "Who are you really? You look to familiar…"

Euphie took a deep breath. It was time to stop running. She locked eyes with Oldrin's mint green. The same as Orpheus's. Eyes that she trusted and found comfort in. "I was previously known as Euphemia li Britannia prior to my death."

Oldrin's eyes got comically wide and her mouth dropped open. Orpheus frowned and wrapped his arms protectively around his Wolfey. He didn't want anyone to hurt her anymore and he didn't know if he was comfortable with her spewing the truth like that. People would use it against her. He glared at his sister. "Don't tell anyone or so help me Oldrin…" he said in a low threatening voice. Oldrin eyes skimmed over the both of them.

"What!? What the actual hell? And you knew!?" Oldrin pointed a finger between the two of them.

Orpheus nodded and kept his hard gaze on his sister and his hold firm on the soft warm body in front of him. Euphie tapped his hands and looked into his face giving him a comforting little smile. She nuzzled her nose against the side of his face. "It's ok" she whispered into his ear. She gently urged him to remove the hold he had on her and he did so reluctantly. He watched as she scooted over to Oldrin and grasped the stunned blonde's hands. "Will you help me stop them Oldrin? All of them? I know everyone thinks that I ordered that massacre, but I didn't. I was under the influence of Lelouch's Geass. Please help me?"

Oldrin looked into the large pleading lavender eyes and swallowed. Her eyes reminded Oldrin so much of Marybell's now that she thought about it. They were just a little bluer and softer in color. Apparently that was another thing her and her brother had in common, being weak to those large pleading purplish colored eyes even if they were slightly different hues. "Alright…" Oldrin said slowly and then had a momentary lapse of heartbeat when Euphie wrapped her arms around her tightly. A painful aching filled that little lapse as the woman hugging her instantly reminded her of another princess that used to hug her like this.

"Ugh… Fine" Orpheus said in defeat. "I'll help you two, but I'm also going to make sure that neither of you die in this suicide mission. It's not like you can just stroll onto the Damocles like it's a walk in the park. We're going to have to plan this out and get back up."

Oldrin looked over the blue haired ex-princess's shoulder and locked eyes with her brother. Her mind was still a little stunned and she just nodded slowly.

X

Euphie rolled over on the bed. Oldrin's bed to be exact, but the blonde had refused to sleep in it anymore since it was sullied by indecent acts. Oldrin now lived on her couch and left her bed to be further soiled by Euphie and Orpheus. Something that was a little weird for Orpheus to even contemplate, but he didn't put up any protest. Especially when it meant that he could spend more time with a beautiful woman in his arms. His fingers ghosted down her bare back pausing to briefly trace the bandages over her healing wound. He frowned at the thought of more bandages covering this pale smooth skin.

Euphie let out a pleased little hum. "Hey…" she started sleepily. "Why aren't you sleeping?"

Orpheus traced her ribcage until his fingers were resting on her stomach. He snuggled closer. "Couldn't sleep…" he mumbled trying to hide the worry and depressing thoughts he was having.

Euphie hummed and wove her fingers into his. She shifted her hips back to press closer to his body. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Orpheus let out a breathless chuckle against the back of her neck. Her messy hair was slightly tickling against his face, but he didn't mind. "It's fine. Just go back to sleep Wolfey." He should have known it wouldn't be so easy. This woman just had a way of breaking down any walls he had or tried to build up around himself. Euphie rolled over and cupped his face gently staring at him with those large concerned eyes.

"Hey you can talk to me about anything you know?" Euphie said with a tiny comforting smile and kissed him softly before pulling back to look into his face. The moonlight just illuminating it enough for her to make out the frown present at the corners of his eyes and mouth.

"I don't want to lose you…" Orpheus said in a miserable little whisper. "I know that our hearts belong to other people, but I love you Wolfey… I don't want to be left alone again…" Orpheus hated himself right now. He was being weak. He was being selfish. The person Euphie loved was still alive, so she could go back to him. Orpheus would have no one left if she did. Large lavender eyes looked at him in surprise and Orpheus wished the bed would just swallow him whole so he wouldn't have to suffer this humiliation.

"Oh Orpheus…" Euphie said softly and kissed his cheek as her arms wrapped around him. Orpheus didn't fight the hug and just let her envelope him in her soft warmth that smelled like freshly baked cinnamon rolls. He would never be able to eat them the same ever again. "I…" she started and Orpheus felt her swallow hard. "I love you too. You're my best friend, but you're more than that… I'm sorry, so unbelievably sorry… I just can't give you everything. My heart will always belong to Suzaku… I'm sorry."

Orpheus hugged her back and kissed her neck. "I know. I get it. I really do, but it hurts like a bitch." Orpheus let out a sarcastic chuckle. "I never thought I would move past Euliya, you know. I thought that was it. I loved, still love, her with every fiber of my being. Then you came along all stupid and naïve and beautiful and I couldn't stop myself from wanting you too. I know I'm selfish…"

Euphie hugged him tighter. "You are not selfish Orpheus. You are wonderful and so truly amazing. I love you because of that."

"Wolfey, will you let me be selfish for a little bit longer?" Orpheus asked hesitantly as he ran his hand up her smooth thigh squeezing gently.

Euphie wrapped her leg around Orpheus waist and pulled his hips closer. "Of course. Take whatever you need from me. I give it willingly."

Orpheus rolled them over until Euphie was lying below him looking up with those large expressive beautiful eyes. He leaned down and captured those smooth silky lips and let out a needy little moan. Euphie wrapped her arms loosely around the back of his neck and buried her fingers into the thick blonde strands tugging gently. She arched her hips up to meet Orpheus's hips as he lowered them. A little moan escaped from the back of her throat running up her tongue that was currently moving in a slow dance against Orpheus's. A pleased sigh escaped Orpheus in return and he let his hand trail down her body until it rested on the curve of her hips. They continued to arch and rock against each other. Touching and tasting everything they could. Orpheus was trying to burn every detail into memory because one day this wouldn't be happening and that day was fast approaching.

X

Marybell growled at the incoming barrage. Really what an inconvenient day. First, V2 comes to harass her…or according to him, check on how she was doing. Well she was obviously doing just fine. How he got onto the Damocles without being detected was beyond her. The ship was a fortress. Not anyone could just stroll on like they owned the place. Second, once Lelouch found out that V2 had been there, he hopped into the Shinkiro with CC and flown off. Not only that, he took the Lancelot and Tristan with him. Third, the most annoyingly of all as soon as the three had flown off to God knows where, a bunch of terrorists decided to assault the Damocles. Like really? Fucking ridiculous, now it was her job to clean up this mess and she was three amazing knightmare's short.

She was just striding through the courtyard of the Damocles to the hangar where her own knightmare frame, Elphaba, was being stored when a very familiar voice called out to her.

"Marybell mel Britannia! We need to talk!" Oldrin called after the coral haired princess.

Marybell's whole body froze with shock and she quickly whipped around to look at the beautiful blonde stomping her way towards her. Marybell instinctively reached for her gun incase this was another imposter. "Stop or I will shoot you!" Marybell yelled back.

Oldrin stopped and regarded the woman in front of her out of the corner of her eyes. She refused to make eye contact. Hell to the no was she becoming a mindless pawn. The two stood in silence as sounds of battle raged around them. "Mary what are you doing? Why are you slaughtering these people?" Oldrin finally asked in a strained voice. "This isn't you. What happened to the peace we both wanted?"

Marybell lowered her gun a fraction. "Oldrin is it really you this time?" Marybell asked with hesitation.

"Yes it's me Mary" Oldrin gave her a depressed fond smile. "But is that really you in there?"

Marybell's brows furrowed in confusion. "Of course it's me."

Oldrin shook her head in defeat. "I can't believe what you are doing to the World. You're killing thousands of people! Why?"

"Because they either need to follow the laws or they need to be eliminated! This World doesn't have a place for terrorists and rebels! In order for a peaceful World they need to obey. Please Oldrin…Please come join me… We can do it together." Marybell lowered her gun and held out her hand.

Oldrin saw it briefly from where she was hesitantly glancing out of the corner of her eyes. "I can't Mary. What you are doing is evil and I'm going to stop you if you won't stop yourself."

Marybell's eyes flashed angrily. "If you won't join me willingly, then I will make you join me!"

Oldrin's eyes screwed shut and she raised her gun with shaky hands. "D-don't you dare try to Geass me or I will shoot you!"

Marybell froze mid-step in shock of the gun raised up at her. A flashback flashed through her mind and she growled. "Oldrin look at me!" Marybell demanded angrily and started marching forward again.

Oldrin panicked and could feel the hairs stand up all over her body. "Please Mary! Stop!"

"You are mine and I will make you join me!"

Oldrin used her years of training to pin point where the woman was in front of her. She took a guess and just hoped for the best. Her finger pulled the trigger and the noise echoed around them.

Marybell's eyes flew wide. She looked in her red haze at her hip that was stinging like a thousand wasps had just attacked it. Blood trickled out of it. The red haze that clouded her mind wasn't coming from her Geass anymore. "You bitch!" Marybell screeched and raised her own gun and pulled the trigger.

Oldrin screamed as pain laced up from her chest. Her eyes flew open in shock as she sank to her knees. She looked at Marybell who was breathing heavily and bearing her teeth. She locked with Marybell's violet eyes that quickly morphed into shock as she looked back into Oldrin's mint green. Oldrin slumped to the ground as a trickle of red slipped past her lips and Marybell started running towards her. Oldrin panicked again when she saw the movement. Too many emotions raced through her brain and the one that was the loudest was fear. She raised her gun again with a shaky arm and pulled the trigger. Marybell's forward momentum stopped and she fell forward clutching her chest. She caught herself on her hands and coughed violently. A trickle of red poured from her mouth.

"OLDRIN! MARYBELL!" Euphie yelled with horror from somewhere behind them.

Oldrin didn't know where she was too stunned by what just happened. She was staring at wide stunned violet that dulled by the second as Marybell slumped forward. The own raging pain in her chest a distant echo to the one raging from her heart. "No!" she coughed through the blood crawling up her throat. She pushed herself up to her hands and knees. Shaking violently she crawled towards Marybell who was coughing up so much red.

Euphie was on her in a second. Her hands desperately trying to do something to help. Oldrin wiggled away from her. "No! Mary" Oldrin choked out before a cough wracked her body. Her vision was swimming and she was in so much pain. She tried to ignore it. She needed to get to Marybell.

"Ok. Ok" Euphie said in a panicked voice. She scooped up Oldrin in her arms with quite a bit of effort and finished carrying her over to Marybell who was laying on the ground breathing slowly and shakily. Oldrin fought against Euphie's hold and wrapped herself protectively over her coral haired princess. Euphie watched helplessly as they both bled out clinging to each other. She was filled with horror. She desperately tried to stop the bleeding with pressure, but all it did was cover her hands with red. So much red. So much blood. Euphie started breathing quickly as panic raced through her. She scooted away and clutched her head coating it with their blood. Was this what was going to happen to her and Suzaku? Would they end up dying in each other's arms? She glanced at her hands. Was this what she was? Just a blood stained princess destined to live in the red pools of pain and anguish. Her lungs shrunk as her vision shrank. The two women in front of her were fuzzy. She couldn't take it. She buried her face once again in her hands and curled forward into the ground crying.

Orpheus was freaking the hell out. He had lost track of Oldrin first and then Euphie. How the hell did he even let that happen? Euphie's scream stopped him mid-step and he turned instantly running towards it. He couldn't let her die. No it was not an option. He would blame himself the rest of his life if that happened. He ran into the open air courtyard and took in the scene with wide horrified eyes. Oldrin was laying curled around Marybell and there was a pool of red around them. Euphie was a little ways away with her head pressed against the ground. Her red stained hands clutching as her body shook.

He ran to his sister first and rolled her over. Her face was vacant and he checked for a pulse. He almost lost it right there when he didn't feel one. His sister. His mirror was dead. He gently rolled her back over to where she had been covering the coral haired princess. He briefly checked for a pulse on Marybell and when he didn't find one he slowly moved away from them in a shocked daze. That wasn't supposed to happen. Didn't he say he was going to make sure she didn't die? He failed. He failed another person in his life. It was too much and his brain splintered. If it wasn't for the soft sobbing coming from Euphie, he might have lost it then and there. Instead he quickly crawled over to her and wrapped her in his arms. She clung to him and sobbed miserably into his shoulder.

"W-wolfey we…we need to go" Orpheus said in a broken voice. They couldn't stay there. It would be a death sentence if they were found by the dead princess. He couldn't fail Euphie too. He needed to get her out of here. They would look for Suzaku another day, Euphie was too broken right now to deal with anything else. He would leave Oldrin with Marybell. That was what she would want anyways.

Euphie clung to him as he picked her up from the ground and started carrying away from the bloody scene. By the time they were near hanger bay with knightmares, Euphie's sobs had dwindled off and she was silent with her face buried into the crook of his neck. He had just opened the door when he was greeted by the Wizard of Peace Mark.

"Good I found you" the Wizard said. Orpheus just numbly walked past him. He wasn't in the mood. The Wizard's hand on his arm stopped him from going farther. "I'm going after V2. He was here a little while ago before fleeing. The Emperor and two of his knights pursued him. We can't let them get to him first and take his code. Help me."

Orpheus was torn. This day was a disaster, but the thought of finally getting V2 was oh so tempting. Also, the thought of the Emperor getting V2 code was horrifying. The ramifications would be immeasurable. He felt Euphie take a deep breath against his neck before she pushed herself and looked into his face with those large determined eyes. Her face was framed with red and it was terrifying.

"We have to go after them Orpheus. We have to end this. Oldrin would have wanted us to" Euphie said in a no nonsense tone.

Orpheus was actually left speechless and left marveling at the strength this woman could possess at times. He nodded and set her on her feet. She smoothed down her black and aqua colored flight suit and plucked her visor out of its hook on her belt. The visor covered her lavender eyes a moment later and she was scanning the room for a knightmare. The Wizard came up and stood by Orpheus for a moment.

"She's a determined one isn't she?" he said somewhat amused. "Shall we join her?"

Orpheus nodded and went to join Euphie in climbing into a knightmare. She had chosen Marybell's Elphaba frame. He hopped into a Sutherland Glinda frame and followed her out into the open air. The Wizard a step behind in his own Agravain. They pulled up the radar and the Shinkiro's current location. That was one thing about this Britannian technology, they had location beacons on some of the frames to keep tabs on them and the pilots. Especially the Emperor's knightmare frame. Orpheus thanked their lucky stars that Lelouch hadn't taken the time to deactivate his location beacon. Speaking of which, he did so on the Sutherland Glinda and opened the communication line with the Elphaba to tell Euphie how to do it. No need for them to be tracked in return. He couldn't stop the little foreboding voice though that this was going to end horribly. His eyes locked onto the Elphaba and he swallowed. He couldn't let what happened to Oldrin happen to Euphie. She would not die in a pool of her own blood. Not again.


	17. Broken Pieces

"Yo Kururugi, you see those bogies coming in at 9 o'clock?" Gino asked over the radio.

Suzaku glanced at the three glowing lights on his radar. "Yep. Looks like we have some company. Just keep them away from the cave Weinberg."

"Of course oh mighty Knight of Zero" Gino said mockingly. Suzaku chose to ignore the idiotic blonde.

Within moments the Lancelot and Tristen were engaging the three enemy knightmare frames. Two of which were very much Britannian. Suzaku would recognize the Elphaba anywhere. It was hard to miss. He also had a very strong feeling that it wasn't Marybell chilling in there which hopefully meant that she was finally defeated.

Euphie's brain shut down as the Lancelot moved towards her. That was Suzaku in there and he was going to fight her… she would have to _fight him_. The first impact jarred through her body. She grit her teeth. They would not kill each other like Oldrin and Marybell. She wouldn't let it come to that.

"Hey Wolfey, you ok?" Orpheus asked as he intercepted the latest blows from the Lancelot.

"I… I don't know…" Euphie said shakily. She thought she would be strong enough to face him, but she couldn't lie to herself or to Orpheus. This was a lot harder than she thought it would be. Especially considering she was a little shaken up by the whole scene earlier. Her hands were still stained red.

"That's fine. You can leave these two to us. I think that knightmare has a smoke screen. Use it to land and find the Emperor" Orpheus grunted as another one of the Lancelot's attacks hit his frame. He would prefer it was him that faced off with the Emperor, but Euphie wasn't in any condition to fight these two. She didn't have the skills. He grunted at another impact. "Quit spacing out Wolfey and get moving already! Just be careful and don't get hurt. I'll be there as soon as I can."

Euphie's scattered mind snapped back to attention. "R-right!" She started maneuvering the Elphaba away from the fighting. "Don't you dare die on me Orpheus."

"I wouldn't dream about it" Orpheus said with a wry grin as he dodged another attack. God he hoped they could both keep those promises.

Suzaku's eyes darted towards the escaping knightmare frame on his right side. He shot another attack at the knightmare frame in front of him before retargeting the one escaping. He was just about to fire when an impact hit the Lancelot.

"No you don't asshole" Orpheus growled out and started viciously fighting the Lancelot to distract him.

Suzaku growled out irritated. His attention focused back on the Sutherland Glinda that was attacking him. He would finish this one off and then go after the other one. "Weinberg one of them escaped. Finish off that knightmare and either help me or get the other one."

"Easier said than done" Gino said through clenched teeth as he fought the Agravain.

Suzaku's eyes darted towards where he had last seen the Elphaba, but the whole area was filled with a lime green smoke.

X

Euphie darted out into the green smoky cloud. The visor was made for situations like this when normal vision was not useable. It scanned the terrain in front of her and filtered back in green lines. Euphie darted quickly through the distance towards where she had seen the Shinkiro sitting next to a cave. She was just about to the cave when pain radiated through her skull. She dropped to her knees and clutched at her head. She heard Orpheus also groan in pain through the ear piece she had plucked from the Elphaba's cockpit.

"S-shit hurry Wolfey. Something happened to V2. We can't let Lelouch have his code…" Orpheus said quietly in a pained voice.

"R-right on it" Euphie pushed herself to her feet and forced herself forward. She reached up and flipped off the terrain vision on her visor, so she could see normally. When she finally made it to the center of the little cave alcove her eyes grew in surprise at the scene.

Lelouch was standing over the bloodied body of V2 talking quietly with his bright green haired woman. His violet eyes fluttered over to her and she saw his body tense slightly. The green haired woman also looked at her with golden eyes. "I see my Knights did a bad job at keeping unwanted visitors out" Lelouch said in an exasperated cold voice.

Euphie didn't answer and just continued to walk forward warily. Her eyes locked on V2. "Is he dead?" she asked in a horrified whisper. There was so much blood…again. The hair stood up on her body as prickling of anxiety started springing up again.

"Yes. Lelouch took his code" the green haired woman said indifferently. A little smirk played at the edges of her mouth. What an interesting turn of events. Turns out Suzaku wasn't crazy after all. "It is nice to see you again."

Euphie's gaze shifted back to them. "B-but if Lelouch took his code…then…"

"Yes. He's immortal now" CC said casually. Lelouch gave her a glance with a raised delicate eyebrow. That was not something he expected CC to spill so easily especially to this blood stained blueberry of a woman. Lelouch looked at the said blueberry haired woman with confusion and disdain. Who was this woman? His gaze narrowed. She did look pretty familiar. He just couldn't peg her behind that visor and blood.

"Lelouch! What have you done!?" Euphie cried out and ripped off the visor to glare at him. She was no longer afraid of confronting him. She was way too angry for that right now.

Lelouch stared at her with large eyes. Now that nothing was blocking her face, he had a very clear look at those large lavender eyes. The face was instantly recognizable to him. He stumbled forward and fell to his knees. "Euphemia?" he asked in a stunned horrified voice.

"I'll give you two a moment to catch up" CC said quietly and stepped away from them.

Euphie continued to glare at him as she marched up to him and kicked him in the chest. He fell back on his ass as the air was forced from his lungs at the impact. "H-how could you Lelouch!? Everything you've done! What you did to me! What you did to the world! And now this!? How could you?" Euphie cried out as hot tears exploded down her cheeks. She crawled on top of Lelouch and started punching him in the face. She was so furious and all she wanted to do was hurt Lelouch as much as he had hurt her.

Lelouch just stared in shock at the crying beautiful wrathful face of his sister as she pummeled him. Eventually her punches dwindled off and she was hitting him exhaustedly on his chest. "But you're dead…" he said in a whisper through his split lip.

"Do I look dead you utter moron!?" Euphie ground out and grabbed him by the collar pulling him to his feet. "Does it disappoint you to find out that the sister you betrayed, used and murdered isn't dead!?"

Lelouch's eyes finally spilled the tears that they had been holding and he smiled at his vengeful angelic sister. "You're alive…" He said in a quiet awed voice and attempted to wrap his arms around her only to be shoved away.

"Don't touch me! You evil bastard!" Euphie shook with too many emotions coursing through her. "H-how dare you try to touch me! You stole my life Lelouch!" Euphie glared at the broken face of her brother as blood dripped from his mouth. Bloody images flashed through her mind like a spastic horrible slide show. Images of her murdering people. Images of the Peace Mark members dying. Oldrin and Marybell clinging to each other as they died in a puddle of their blood. Lelouch's beautiful face bloodied and broken. Images of Orpheus bleeding from injuries. Made up images of Suzaku dying in a bloody heap in her arms. Too many they just kept coming. Euphie clutched at her head as she fell to the floor. Her vision flickered black and she could barely register Orpheus calling out to her in her earpiece.

Lelouch caught the fainting body before it collided with the floor. CC crept out of her hiding space a second later. Lelouch tore his wide eyes away from Euphie's prone figure on the floor to CC. The green haired woman kneeled next to them on the floor and brushed the blue strands out of Euphie's blood covered face.

"Well that was an exciting turn of events. Are we taking her with us?" CC asked casually as she plucked the earpiece out of Euphie's ear.

Lelouch growled as he cradled his broken beautiful sister. "Of course we are taking her with us" he said hotly.

CC raised her hands in defeat as she positioned the earpiece into her ear.

"Wolfey! Hey answer me dammit" Orpheus called out in panic. Shit. He had heard her yelling and then breathing erratically. She was definitely having one of those episodes and he was stuck fending off the Lancelot. Would Lelouch hurt her? What would he do to her in that state?

"Hello" CC said casually.

Orpheus took a sharp intake of breath. "What did you do to her?" he growled out.

"We did nothing. She just had a little panic attack and fainted. Don't worry she's fine. We're just going to take her with us to make sure."

"What!? Like fucking hell I will let you evil bastards have her! Let her go!"

"No can do. The Emperor needs to have a little family reunion and discuss somethings and he can't do that when she's in lala land. Plus you're not really in any position to be demanding things."

"Don't you dare hurt her!"

"I can promise you Mr. Heroic Knight that we will not hurt her. Not in the slightest. The Emperor would never hurt his second favorite sibling…Well not intentionally anyways."

Orpheus choked back a miserable sob as his emotions threatened to undo him. He was failing again. He was letting them take Euphie and he couldn't stop them. He watched as the Shinkiro rose into the air and fly off. No! He couldn't lose her. He tried to go after them, but due to him being distracted the Lancelot got a pretty good hit on him and the Sutherland Glinda was falling to the ground below him. Orpheus watched in a black hole of despair as the Lancelot descended on him. Fuck this was the end. He was a failure in every sense of the word.

"Please don't hurt her…" he pleaded with the mysterious woman on the other side of the earpiece.

Suzaku was about to eliminate the annoying knightmare below him when Lelouch cut threw his communication line. "Kururugi and Weinberg withdraw immediately. We have what we came for plus some. Do not worry about finishing off those knightmares."

"But-" Suzaku started.

"Withdraw Suzaku. Leave him" Lelouch cut him off with a firm voice. He wasn't sure what was going on, but whoever that pilot was cared deeply for his sister based on what CC said. He couldn't find it in him at this moment to kill off the person that might have been protecting her. He brushed his fingers through the blue hair and let his fingers trail down her delicate features. She was so beautiful. Terrifying and beautiful. His fingers trailed over the scars on her forehead. One healed and a thin white line. The other one fresh and just scabbed over. What had his beautiful sweet kind sister been through since he killed her?

Suzaku growled his frustration and flew after the Shinkiro. The enemy knightmares didn't pursue them. One incapable and the other assisting his little buddy.

X

Euphie groaned and blinked. She was laying on a bed and the light was dim. She turned her head to the side and stared at the cream colored walls. She slowly pushed herself up and scowled. She was in a fancy little room. No doubt Britannian based on the décor. Son of bitch. This was not what she wanted at all. Dammit! She had totally and utterly failed at confronting Lelouch. There was a glass of water on a little table next to the bed. She noticed that her clothes were changed and she was in a loose gray sweatshirt and sweatpants. That wasn't the only change. There was also a chain and handcuffs chaining her to the bed frame. She let out a little growl and stood up. The chain was pretty long, so it let her explore the room. There was a tiny bathroom off to the side that she could thankfully still reach. Although it did stretch the chain tight. She plopped back down on the bed with an irritated huff.

She heard the door lock click and she glared at the door. Lelouch crept in looking all guilty and shit. His face was also back to its perfect elegance. It made Euphie scowl. That perfect beautiful face hid such an ugly corrupt soul. Lelouch smiled at her lovingly and sat down on the chair next to the fancy carved wooden desk.

"You're awake. Good" Lelouch said in a soft voice. "You scared me when you fainted."

"Don't play the sweet loving brother. That fake little act won't work on me anymore" Euphie said sourly.

Lelouch gave her a sad smile. He could feel a prickling in his eyes looking at this woman. His sister who was so changed and it was all his fault. "I'm not faking Euphie. God you have no idea how unbelievably happy I am that you are alive…I thought…I thought I'd lost you forever."

"Why? I want to know why you ordered me to massacre an entire race of people" Euphie said through clenched teeth.

Lelouch gave her another pitiful little look. "I didn't mean to. It was a just a really bad joke-"

"A joke? What the hell does that even mean!?" Euphie cut him off and took a threatening step forward off the bed. The metal from the chain clinking in the process.

"I had every intention of joining the SAZ. I was just joking about how I could make you do anything like kill all the Japanese. I didn't realize that my Geass had gone haywire and activated. What was meant to be a stupid joke turned into an order. I tried to stop it. I did! I tried to order it away, but my Geass only allowed me to place one order on a person… You tried to fight the order because it was against your very nature… but then you ran out onto the stage and issued the command. I didn't know what else to do, but shoot you… I thought…" Lelouch couldn't stop the trickle of tears that crept out of his eyes. By this point he was feeling just downright miserable, but at the same time extremely relieved. It had been a horrible thing to live through and now he had to explain it to Euphie who was looking at him with those eyes. Eyes that used to look at him lovingly. Now they were just a pit of hatred. "I'm so sorry. I shot you, so you wouldn't have to live with what you had done… It was one of the worst mistakes of my life Euphie. It nearly destroyed me. But here you are… You're beautiful…" Lelouch smiled at her sadly again. He just wanted her to smile back at him. Just once. God he really did love her.

Euphie stared down at her brother in disgust… A part of her wanted to beat the crap out of him again. Another part couldn't take that broken look and she just wanted to hug him and take his pain away. Her body shivered violently at the conflicting emotions raging through her. "I will never forgive you for what you did to me… You stole my life Lelouch… You killed me" she finally said in a small voice. "And what you are doing to the World. It's beyond horrid. Do you know they call you a Demon? What happened to you Lelouch? Why are you doing this? I don't understand you at all."

Lelouch took a deep breath and contemplated. Should he bear his soul to her? Tell her all his darkest secrets and what his plans are? Isn't that how the villain's plans end up being thwarted in movies? Too much explaining to the hero? It was hell though looking into that face that belonged to his sister that wasn't his sister anymore. He didn't know her anymore. Did he trust her? Would she try and talk him out of his plans? He was so thoroughly torn. "I promise that everything will work out in the end, but I can't just spill the plan to you. I honestly don't know if I can trust you."

Euphie could have cried at how ridiculous that statement was. Instead she laughed mockingly. "You don't trust me? That's a really something there. It's not like I used and killed you… Lelouch you're a grade A asshole."

Lelouch raised an eyebrow at her. Euphie swearing? Who was this woman? "Will you tell me what happened to you?"

Euphie snorted and crossed her arms as she plopped back on the bed. She glared at her brother defiantly. "I'll make a deal with you. I ask a question and you answer. You ask a question and I answer."

Lelouch smiled at his sister and nodded his agreement. That would be interesting. "Sure why not, but not today. We'll do it tomorrow. Suzaku has been pacing outside of this door since we brought you here. He really wants to see you, but I convinced him to let me talk to you first."

Euphie felt a wave of fear run up her spine. Lelouch had already elegantly stood up and headed for the door. "I…no…I uh…wait!" Euphie cried out and ran after Lelouch.

Lelouch looked at the wide eyed terrified face of his not dead half-sister with a raised eyebrow. What is this all about? "Euph-"

"No! I don't go by that name anymore. You made Euphemia into a monster and I don't want to be a monster!" Euphie cried out hysterically. She was shaking at this point and realized that she was gripping onto Lelouch. She quickly released him as if he was burning her and she took a step back. She took a couple deep breaths trying to re-center herself again. Her eyes screwed shut. After a moment she peeked up under her lashes at Lelouch's slightly confused face. He was looking rather unsure of himself and it was somewhat refreshing. "I go by Lina Wolfhart now" Euphie said softly.

Lelouch nodded slowly. I mean could he really argue with her? He had taken everything from her and Euphemia li Britannia had been labeled as Princess Massacre. Well P.M. V.1. The second Princess Massacre was going to be laid to rest tomorrow with her best friend. Lelouch actually felt a little pity for Marybell and Oldrin Zevon when he heard how they were found. "Ok… Lina… Why don't you want to see Suzaku?" This was a whole new mystery to him. Suzaku and Euphie are like the apple pie and ice cream. They just made sense. He watched Euphie tense and shy away like a terrified little bunny.

"I…um… just not today… I'm tired…" Euphie said miserably.

Lelouch cocked his head. He could just imagine how that conversation is going to go down with the antsy angsty Suzaku who was chilling in the hall waiting to get to the love of his life. Yeah that's going to work oh so well. "I'll try, but you know I'm not strong enough to physically keep him out of here."

"Lelouch…" Euphie started not sure how she wanted to ask, but knowing that she had to if she was going to have to face Suzaku eventually. "D-did you use Geass on Suzaku to make him…able to kill all those people?"

Lelouch gave his sister a look of pity and shook his head. "I had already used Geass on him in the early days of Zero. I didn't want him to die, so I ordered him to live."

"Oh…ok." Euphie sat down on the bed a little lost for what she should be feeling.

"Just so you know, he's not evil Eup- uh- Lina. What we are doing has a purpose and one day it will make sense."

Euphie snorted in disbelief and flopped over on the bed to hide her face. "Just go away Lelouch and I don't want to see Suzaku right now."

Lelouch sighed and opened the door. He didn't even get a chance to tell Suzaku Euphie's wish because the brawny brunette shoved himself through the door as soon as it opened.

"Euphie!" Suzaku cried out. God he couldn't believe she was alive. It was the best thing he had heard in for like ever. His heart was racing and his palms were sweaty. He was dizzy and buzzing with so much emotion.

Euphie saw him and her eyes blew wide. She scooted back as far as she could and held a pillow to her chest that felt like it was a moment away from exploding.

Suzaku's steps faltered when he saw absolutely terrified Euphie looked staring at him. Her body was shaking and his own body started reacting in panic. What was wrong? He didn't understand what was happening. He had played this over and over and over in his mind and it was never this reaction.

Lelouch stepped up beside Suzaku and put a comforting hand on his friend. This was going extremely awkwardly. He glanced towards the terrified woman on the bed that hadn't moved a muscle since she hugged the pillow to her chest. "Lina?"

Euphie blinked and tore her eyes away from the beautiful tan face and dark forest eyes. She looked into the regal pale face with bright violet eyes. "I…I…uh…"

Suzaku glanced at Lelouch as well with furrowed brows. "Lina?"

"Suzaku meet Lina. Her new name."

"Oh" Suzaku said dumbly. He had no idea what was happening and he couldn't even begin to try and sort this out. He glanced back at Euphie who was once again staring at him with those lovely lavenders. He took a tentative step forward. "Lina…Ok. I get it" Suzaku stopped when he was right next to her and he dropped to his knees to gaze up at her. She was so unbelievably beautiful. He put a hand on the bed slowly. He didn't want to scare her anymore. She looked terrified.

"Oh Suzaku…" Euphie said as her eyes prickled as little tears started spilling free. It was too overwhelming. She didn't even know where to begin. She slowly moved her hand on top of his and instantly felt the spark run up through her arm. Suzaku was here. She was touching him. Her Suzaku.

X

Orpheus swore as he left the cockpit of the Sutherland Glinda. He watched as the three knightmare's got farther away in the sky. They blurred as his eyes began to fill with tears. How could he let this happen? This had to be one of the most difficult days in his life. Oldrin was dead which was difficult to accept. Even if they weren't that close and only found out about each other 2 years ago, she was still the only family he had. Well until Euphie. She had filled that huge aching hole in his heart and he was watching her be taken away by the Demon Emperor and his Grim Reaper. What would they do to her? Dammit. He fell to his knees and his frustration exploded through his mouth escaping into the quiet of the island.

The Wizard was watching from where he was leaning against the Agravain. "Are you done yet?" he asked when the awful yelling was done. Orpheus looked at him with angry tear stained eyes. "I'll give you something to distract you for a while." The Wizard said as he proceeded to remove his mask. Orpheus's mouth dropped open before a growl escaped him. A moment later he was launching himself at his uncle.


	18. Time for a New Mask

"Well I'm just going to take my leave now. You two catch up" Lelouch said as he quickly exited the room. He did not want to get caught in any cross fire that might happen. He also didn't want to witness any sort of cuddling or more intimate things. He shivered at the thought. Gross.

The door shutting drew Euphie out of her little daze and she tore her hand back. Suzaku started to rise up on the bed and Euphie quickly held her hands up defensively. "Don't" she whispered and looked away from him.

"I don't understand. What's the matter?" Suzaku asked in a pained voice. "Euphie look at me."

"No! I'm not Euphie. Don't call me that. I can't take it" Euphie choked back a sob and still refused to look at Suzaku. She felt him though starting to get close to her. "Stop it! Don't come near me!"

Suzaku was at a loss. Her words and actions were cutting at him. Slicing away the little sanity he was clinging onto. "Please look at me" he said in a softer voice and some of the pain in his chest eased when her eyes locked onto his again. "You're acting like you're afraid of me. Why?"

"Because I am Suzaku. I'm terrified. You're not the Suzaku that I fell in love with…what you've done…it's unspeakable." Euphie could feel the tears running down her cheeks, but she did nothing to stop them.

Suzaku's eyes followed their paths and when he looked back into her eyes, there were tears forming in his as well. "I'm still me. I know a lot of things have happened and I've done horrible things, but there is a reason. Lelouch and I are changing the world. It will be worth it in the end."

"How can you say that Suzaku! You're killing innocent people!"

"We are ending war!" Suzaku cried back through his tears. He grabbed at Euphie's hands again trying to convey his emotions to her. He yanked her into his chest and hugged her to him. He needed to touch her. To feel her. To make her understand.

"No!" Euphie pulled back. When Suzaku didn't release her, Euphie's fight instinct kicked in and she used her weight to push off the bed. It threw Suzaku off balance and they tumbled to the floor. Euphie quickly scrambled to her feet and held a defensive position as she looked down into his stunned face. "D-don't touch me…" Euphie stated in a shaky voice.

Suzaku continued laying where he was with the wind knocked out of him. He didn't know what to say and his heart was breaking all over again. A pained sob escaped him and he curled in on himself trying to hold himself together. The thought that his Euphie despised him was tearing him apart inside. He started shaking as he tried to hold back his sobbing.

Euphie's heart flared with its own pain seeing Suzaku like this. She couldn't take it. Euphie dropped to her knees and instantly curled around Suzaku in a protective embrace. Something was wrong. Somehow Suzaku had brainwashed himself to justify what he was doing. If she wanted _her_ Suzaku back, she was going to have to fight for him. She had to get him back. She buried her face into his neck as she held his trembling frame. "Shh… I'm here…" Euphie whispered against his neck and placed a small kiss on it. She could Geass him, but she didn't want to. She never wanted to manipulate Suzaku and he needed to feel this pain. He needed to understand what he was doing was wrong.

Suzaku's shaking slowly calmed when it registered in his mind that Euphie was hugging him and had even kissed the back of his neck. He slowly rolled over to look at her. He cupped her smooth pale cheek as he looked into her soothing eyes. He moved slower than a snail as he crept his lips closer to her's. Euphie's eyes went wide, but she didn't pull away. When Suzaku was a millimeter away he stopped. He could feel her breath on his lips. It sent tendrils of want through him, but he refrained from moving that last little bit. He didn't want to scare her even further away.

Euphie's breathing rate had increased as her wide eyes watched Suzaku get closer. Her heart started hammering in her chest, but she didn't pull away. She couldn't. She was locked in place by that foresty green gaze. When his breath caressed her lips it was too much. She closed the distance between them and an electric wave crashed through her when their lips connected.

Suzaku felt like he was melting. All the stress. His worries. Everything. The only thing remaining was want and need. His body was already sending heat southward in his body. Suzaku buried his fingers into the blue strands at the back of her neck and pulled her closer. The light press of lips got harder and he used his thumb to urge her to part those soft lips for him. A little whine escaped her as his tongue slipped past the barrier. A low groan escaped him as his tongue made contact with her and he rolled them over. Euphie's hands grasped at his back and there was only one thing left on Suzaku's mind. He wanted her, so freaking much that it was painful. His body was burning and he dropped his hips to connect their bodies together. Euphie moaned and one of her legs wrapped around his hip. His hand instantly grabbed her upper thigh and squeezed.

Euphie's mind was a jumbled blurry mess as Suzaku rocked their bodies together. His tongue was relentless and she was quickly losing oxygen. She threw her head back to breathe when Suzaku slipped his hand up her shirt and touched her with feather light strokes. She could feel him against her touching her. Kissing at her neck. She could feel the hardening in his pants. A moan escaped her when Suzaku bit down on her neck. It was too many sensations and her heart started beating out of control as she slipped further into the needy spiral. It was when Suzaku's fingers dipped into the waist of the sweatpants that her mind caught up with what was happening. The lust evaporated in an instant and panic took its place. "W-wait!" Euphie cried out and grasped at his wandering hands.

Suzaku propped himself up breathing heavily to look at her. His eyes were fogged over lost in the heat of the moment. It took a moment for them to start to clear, but they did when he saw the fear reflected in her eyes. His heart started beating harder with anxiety. What did he do wrong? "What's the matter?" Suzaku asked in a concerned voice.

"I…We can't do this Suzaku" Euphie whispered back shakily and softly pushed Suzaku off of her.

He went easily in a confused daze. "Why?" he finally asked when they were both sitting looking at each other. The space on the ground between them was killing him.

"We don't know each other anymore. We've both changed so much. This doesn't feel right." Well that wasn't exactly correct. It felt right to her body, but Euphie was struggling to let go of the emotional anguish of what she had seen of Suzaku recently. She would never be able to share her body with him again until she felt like she could trust him.

Suzaku took a couple calming breaths willing his body to cool down. It had been so long since it had felt this way that it was more difficult than it probably should be. "Ok. What do you want to know? I will tell you everything."

Euphie felt exhausted. This had been too emotional and she didn't think she was ready to deal with anything further today. She gave Suzaku a sad smile. "Not today. I'm tired. Lelouch is coming tomorrow for questions and answers. Come with him."

Suzaku took time to process the words and then nodded. "Ok." He really didn't want Lelouch to be with them when they talked, but if that's what she wanted, he would agree.

"Please leave now" Euphie broke the eye contact and crawled back up on the bed facing away from him. The sound of the metal chain reminding her exactly where she was and what she was. She was a Britannian prisoner.

Suzaku slowly stood up and walked with a heavy heart to the door. "Goodnight…" he whispered before he left. Once the door was shut, he slumped to the floor and let his tears fall quietly. His body was still thrumming with energy and he was utterly confused by everything.

XXX

Orpheus was still growling and attempting to beat his uncle to death, but Oiaguro Zevon was a man who had quite a bit of military training under his belt. He wasn't that easy to lay hands upon. He eventually had his spitting growling nephew pinned to the ground.

"Enough Orpheus. Let's just have a civilized conversation" Oiaguro said calmly.

Orpheus growled and bucked against the hold. "Civilized! You murdered a whole village! You killed Eiluya!"

"Regrettably yes. I was a part of that whole horrid affair, but I have spent every moment since than trying to make up for it. Why do you think I became the Wizard of Peace Mark? I swore I would try to put a stop to Britannia by working as a double agent. I swore I would do everything I could to help you and Oldrin" Oiagura stated a little heatedly.

"Oldrin is dead! You failed!" Orpheus spat out again. He didn't want to believe any of the shit this vile man was spewing.

"I know!" Oiagura yelled back frustrated. "I was too late to save her, but I am not too late to save you! I'm here to help you Orpheus! Let me help you! Do you want to get Princess Euphemia back or not!?"

Orpheus's struggling stopped and he looked into his uncle's blue-green eyes stunned. "You know about her?"

"Of course I know. Who do you think let that little rumor about her not being dead out in the first place? How she ended up with you is a mystery, but it happened none the less. Now you can continue to fight like an untamed moron or we can work together. You couldn't save Euliya and yes I know I'm at fault for her death, but you still have a chance to save Euphemia."

Orpheus was at a loss for words at the moment and a loss for fighting. He still wanted to kill this man with a vengeance, but he also wanted to save Euphie. The scale tipped in favor of Euphie after a couple of tense minutes of thinking. "Fine. For now I won't kill you, but don't think this is over."

Oiaguro released his nephew and smoothed out his clothes as he stood up. "Good. I'm happy to see you're thinking with your head. The little skirmish on the Damocles that took place today showed that it isn't impenetrable. All we need to do is fan the flames of other rebellion groups for another attack. You can slip aboard and find your Princess. I have no doubt that is where they will be holding her."

Orpheus warily watched his uncle and nodded. He still didn't trust this man and he never would.

XXX

"No. Absolutely not" Lelouch said firmly staring into Suzaku's determined eyes.

"Yes. We are telling her everything. Even about Zero Requiem" Suzaku said firmly. "I'm going to do it with or without your permission. You can't order me about on this one and you need me for it to be completed. Sorry Lelouch you don't have a say in this one."

Lelouch sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "We can't just go spouting our plans out to just anybody Suzaku. That is how they will end up getting foiled."

"Euphie isn't just anybody! She is everything to me and I can't have her hating me! I can't live with that Lelouch! It will drive me insane!" Suzaku yelled back and slammed his hands on the table.

"It's a short drive" CC said casually from where she was perched on the arm of Lelouch's chair.

"Just everyone shut up and let me think for a moment" Lelouch said in an exhausted voice. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. After a couple of minutes he opened them again and looked Suzaku straight in the eye. "Fine, but we keep her locked up just in case."

Suzaku let out a sigh of relief. "Ok. Deal." The thought of Euphie being locked up in a cage bugged him, but if that was the price for her knowing the truth than Suzaku would take it.

"Well come on then. Let's go see our guest" Lelouch stood up elegantly causing CC to get out of the way. She mumbled a have fun as the two males left the room.

Euphie's eyes flew to the door when she heard the lock click free. Lelouch and Suzaku walked into the room. Suzaku brought her a tray of food and set it carefully on the nightstand next to the bed. His eyes looked at her with such emotion that she shifted uncomfortably. She wanted to let him know she still loved him. She really did, but she couldn't bring herself to.

"Good morning" Lelouch said calmly and plopped himself onto the desk chair. Suzaku slowly sat at the foot of the bed cross legged facing Euphie completely. His attention zeroed in on her.

"Did you sleep ok?" Suzaku asked in a small voice.

Euphie rolled her eyes that had dark circles under them. Lelouch arched a black delicate eyebrow at the action. "Hmm… let's think about that. Being locked up in a Britannian room by the person that Geassed me in the first place and robbed me of my life. Ha right. Did I sleep ok…" Euphie commented back sarcastically. She then felt a little bad when Suzaku looked like she slapped him. Maybe she had put too much bite into her comeback. "Sorry…" she mumbled awkwardly and looked away from Suzaku's face.

"Well I do believe you wanted to do some questioning and answering, so should we start?" Lelouch asked after a couple moments of silence lapsed.

"Sure" Euphie said neutrally. "I'll start. What happened after I supposedly died?"

Lelouch let out a little chuckle. "Well that wasn't a very specific question. It's more like asking for everything all up front. Where's the fun in that?"

Euphie glared at her brother. "Fine what happened immediately after I died?"

Euphie sat quietly and absorbed the information that came from both Lelouch and Suzaku. She than answered Lelouch's question about how she woke up in a psych ward that it appears Cornelia deposited her in. Lelouch sighed and made a comment about how of course Cornelia would hide her away. Euphie learned about Suzaku turning Lelouch over to their father and how his memories were wiped. She learned about a boy named Rolo who took on Nunnally's position in Lelouch's life. That made Euphie frown. Lelouch and Nunnally were bound together and for someone, even their father, to tamper with it was just wrong. She told them about V2 and her Geass power. She learned about Lelouch and Suzaku stopping their father and Lelouch's mother, Marian, who had never died in the first place. It went on and on. Until Lelouch asked a question that had Euphie looking away and fidgeting.

"Who was the man in the Sutherland Glinda that CC talked to through your ear piece?" Lelouch asked casually and watched his half-sister closely.

Suzaku's eyes went wide and he glanced between Lelouch and Euphie. What man? What did he have to do with anything besides being really freaking hard to kill?"

"A friend" Euphie responded with a shrug as she bit her lip and looked away from both of the men in the room. Friend didn't even begin to describe it. Orpheus was her _best_ friend and a person she loved.

"Hmm…" Lelouch responded. "What's his name?"

Euphie bulked and looked at Lelouch. "Like I would tell you that? I'm not going to give you information, so you can eliminate him."

Lelouch arched his brows and crossed his arms leaning back in his chair. "I want to know for the exact opposite reason, so I don't accidently kill him. It seems like he was very concerned for your safety which means he cares about you. I assume he was the person who has been looking out for you since you escaped the hospital. You weren't very specific on who that was in your story."

Suzaku felt something twisting inside of him. He didn't like where this conversation was going. Not in the slightest. He watched as Euphie fidgeted and how her eyes darted around the room. She opened her mouth and then closed it again.

"He did take care of me…" Euphie finally mumbled. "He's my best friend and if you hurt him Lelouch, I will never forgive you."

"I promise to try not to kill him if I can help it, but I need a name or what he looks like at least. Work with me here."

"Orpheus Zevon…" Euphie finally said in a whisper. Her eyes darted back to Lelouch and she studied him carefully.

Lelouch furrowed his brows. "Like Oldrin Zevon?"

"Yes. Orpheus is her twin brother."

Lelouch pursed his lips and shrugged. "At least I'll be able to spot him out if he looks like her."

Euphie nodded and her gaze darted to Suzaku. He was looking rather confused and edgy. "So how do you think killing people is going to bring peace to the World?" Euphie asked quickly trying to change the subject to something else. She didn't want any more questions about Orpheus.

Lelouch gave his sister an appraising look and let the conversation of the mysterious Zevon drop. He then told her about Zero Requiem. Suzaku had fallen creepily silent as he watched Euphie. Something was prickling in the back of his thoughts and he was desperately trying not to go there. Oldrin had been mildly attractive and if this man was her twin, than chances are he was attractive as well. He had also been running around with Euphie for quite some time.

Euphie ended up staring at both of them with wide eyes. "What!?" she cried out and hopped off the bed. "That's insane Lelouch! Are you crazy! I mean what the actual fuck!?"

Lelouch was staring with surprised eyes at the pacing woman who was rambling on incoherently. He did pick up the swear words that fell from those sweet lips from time to time. Euphie really had changed. Eventually she paused and directed her pointed gaze at Suzaku.

"And you're going along with this insane plan!?" Euphie asked with an edge to her voice.

Suzaku stared up into her face and nodded. "It will work Euphie. It will be the war to end all wars and an era of peace will follow with Nunnally at the reigns."

Euphie just blinked. "But what if you die!?"

"I won't. It's just a staged death and then I will take my place as Zero and make up for all the sins I've committed" Suzaku replied calmly.

"This is just madness" Euphie said in a defeated voice and plopped down on the bed next to Suzaku.

Suzaku was desperately holding himself back from reaching out to touch her. "It will work out. The little attack that happened showed that the Damocles isn't invincible. We just have to wait for the next attack. I fake my death and we capture prisoners. Trust us."

Euphie snorted in disbelief. "Trust you…" she echoed softly. She glanced back at Lelouch who was looking at her thoughtfully.

"Yes. Trust us Euphie" Lelouch said confidently.

Euphie flinched. "Don't call me that."

"You can change your name and appearance, but you will always be Euphemia li Britannia deep down inside your core" Lelouch said softly. He got up to stand in front of Euphie and slowly pushed the blue bangs from her forehead.

Euphie wanted to pull away, but Lelouch's loving gaze locked her in place. She wasn't talking to the Demon Emperor right now. She was talking to her brother. Her Lelouch and when he leaned down to place a gentle kiss on her forehead, she didn't pull away. Just like deep down she knew who she was, Lelouch was still Lelouch deep down. "Let me help you…" Euphie whispered and looked up into her brother's regal face. He gave her a questioning look. "If Suzaku is going to wear the mask of Zero, let me wear a mask too. I have sins too that need to absolved. Let me take care of Nunnally when you're gone."

Lelouch felt an overwhelming love wash over him. She really was his sister. He leaned down to her level and wrapped her in a tight hug that she returned. "Ok. You have yourself a deal Euphie."

They stayed wrapped in each other's arms for a while until Euphie pulled back and cupped her brother's cheeks. "Great. Now get this chain off of me and bring me something else to wear besides these potato sacks. Apparently you have a flare for fashion, so I assume you will find something appropriate."

Lelouch rested his forehead against hers and chuckled. "You really have changed Euphie, but at the same time, you're still you. I'm sending Cecil in to make sure your wounds are healing properly."

Suzaku who had been watching the whole scene with warmth bubbling through him paused. "Wounds?" The concern evident in his voice. He had noticed the cut on her forehead and the other little scar, but there was more? That was not ok.

Euphie quickly grabbed his hand. "It's alright. They're just scratches really."

Lelouch snorted. "That's not what Cecile said when she cleaned you up the first time. Also…tattoo?" Lelouch asked with some amusement.

Suzaku's green eyes got even wider and Euphie's pale cheeks flushed pink. "You have a tattoo?" Suzaku whispered in a small shaky voice. Also, the thought had little flickering flames rushing through his blood stream. "Can I see?"

Lelouch grimaced. "I'll give you two a moment alone while I go look for Cecile and find you something else to wear. Here's the key for the handcuff." Lelouch tossed the key on the bed and quickly left the room.

Euphie bit her lip feeling unbelievably shy at the moment. Suzaku's eyes were flickering with an emotion that she only guessed bordered on lust. "A-alright…" she replied shakily. She turned her back to him and lifted her shirt slightly. Her body broke out into goosebumps when she felt his slightly calloused finger trail across the wolf tattoo on her lower back. The room was so quiet that she could hear his breathing pick up slightly in pace and drop an octave lower. Her body shivered when Suzaku's fingers trailed around to her stomach and his hot breath ghosted on her neck.

"Euphie…can I…?" Suzaku asked in a heavy voice.

Euphie let out a shaky breath and tilted her head to the side in invitation. A shaky moan escaped her when Suzaku bit down on the side of her neck and his arms tightened around her waist pulling her back flush against his chest. "Su-zaku…" Euphie said breathlessly and whined when his fingers dipped inside of her pants. She desperately wanted to get lost in the moment and let go. She wanted to give herself to him completely again, but there was still panic there. She was still emotionally strung out and she didn't want their first time back together to be when she felt like this. She still wanted to just spend time getting to know each other again before jumping into bed. She pulled his hands away and stood up off the bed.

Suzaku was breathing heavily and his eyes were lidded. He looked up at her confused and a frown started to appear on his handsome face. "Euphie?"

Euphie could feel tears pooling in her eyes and she wrapped her arms around herself. "I can't Suzaku. It's too soon. I just want to get to know you again. I'm not ready for all of…that yet."

Suzaku took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He flopped down on the bed feeling frustrated and horny. He had been denying himself for so long that now that his libido had been re-awoken it was loud and demanding. "A-alright…" he said after a couple of minutes collecting himself. He could wait. It was fine. Euphie just wanted to spend time together. He could do that, but damn he needed a cold shower right now.

There was a knock on the door that drew them both out of their thoughts. A moment later Suzaku was walking back to his room for that shower lost in his own thoughts. Particular how he could win Euphie back. He wanted her so badly. It hurt everywhere including his heart. Luckily the strain he felt before in his pants had abated some.

Cecile looked at Euphie pleasantly. "Well everything seems to be in order. We ran a physical on you when Lelouch first brought you in and everything came back normal. You and you're baby are doing just fine."

Euphie stared at her for a good solid minute with her mouth hanging open before the room swirled and faded black.


	19. Letting the Burning Fire Free

_**Author note - Emotions, emotions everywhere. Crap is hitting the fan. Warning - attempted suicide...so...yeah. If that's not something you're ok reading, might want to skip to bottom for a brief summary, or you can skip over the little X section labeled suicide attempt** _

* * *

"In the future can you refrain from trying to get it on with my sister in front of me? It's just weird" Lelouch said with a disgusted shiver as he folded up some clothes CC had gathered for Euphie.

Suzaku sighed and ran his hand over his face. "Pretty sure you don't have to worry about that" he said sullenly. "She doesn't want anything to do with me."

Lelouch arched an eyebrow. "Really?" Then he shrugged. "Give her time I guess. She does seem to be a little off her rocker."

"She'll fit in perfectly with us then" CC commented from where she was devouring a pizza in the corner.

The knock on the door drew there attention. "You can enter" Lelouch called out.

Cecile popped in with a smile. "Your Majesty" she greeted and nodded. Her indigo hair falling forward in the process.

"Cecile" Lelouch acknowledged. "How are the wounds healing? Any infections?"

"Nope everything is healing wonderfully…although she might have a couple more bruises. She fainted and I couldn't get to her on time."

Suzaku pushed off the wall with concern. "What do you mean she fainted? Why?"

"I guess she didn't know she was pregnant and it came as quite the shock to her" Cecile explained like it was no big deal.

Oh, but it was. Lelouch dropped the shirt he was folding and his eyes grew in shock. Even CC stopped mid-bite to look up. Suzaku…oh…Suzaku wasn't sure he heard that right. His steps faltered and his lungs stopped working.

"W-what did you just say?" Suzaku asked ever so slowly.

Cecile cocked her head and looked at him. She then slapped her hand over her mouth and her light blue eyes went wide. "I…uh…I'm sorry Suzaku" Cecile mumbled quietly. "Euphemia is pregnant" she added even quieter.

Lelouch looked at his friend with a whole lot of concern and trepidation. "Suz-"

"Stop!" Suzaku barked out and took a step back with his hands clenched. His mind was getting lost in a black hole. His lungs were shrinking. His heart was cracking along the seams. He did the only thing that ran through his swirling thoughts. He ran. He needed to get away from people because he was falling apart.

There were so many questions firing off in his brain as he walked quickly to the sanctuary of his own room. Did someone take advantage of her? The thought had a wave of liquid lava scorching through his veins. If someone forced her, he would find that man and rip him limb from limb. It would also explain why she was terrified of being intimate with him. God he was furious at the thought of someone hurting her.

His steps faltered however when the wicked little voice in his head stated that maybe she wasn't forced. Maybe she had willingly shared her body with someone else. Maybe she even fell in love with someone else. The wave of liquid lava vanished and his body felt like it was being crushed. His hand reached out to the wall to stop him from collapsing on the floor. He was breathing heavily, but no oxygen was getting into his lungs. His vision was fuzzy as he slumped to the floor.

He sat there as his thoughts raged and warred with each other. Whatever mental health he had been holding onto was slowly melting away. He got to his feet on shaky legs and turned. He wasn't going to his room quite yet. He needed some questions answered. He turned on his heel and walked in a dazed state to the woman who held all of the answers.

X

Euphie was laying on her back looking up at the white ceiling. Her thoughts were swirling with emotions. As she cried softly, her fingers trailed across her lower stomach. She was pregnant. She was pregnant with Orpheus's child. She was not pregnant with Suzaku's child. How did she let this happen? Better question was what the hell was she supposed to do? She was obviously keeping the child. There was no other option in her mind, but how the hell was she supposed to tell Suzaku? This would break him.

She hadn't even been sure she was going tell him about Orpheus. She hadn't really known how to. They were just getting to know each other again and she didn't want to screw it up. She wanted her Suzaku back. She wanted to be able to hold him and talk to him like she used to. She wanted to see his dazzling smiles and glimmering forest green eyes. She would never be whole without him.

She was pulled from her thoughts when the door flew open and Suzaku stormed in. He looked like hell had just spit him back out. His eyes were bleeding pain as well as copious amounts of tears. His soft lips were parted and he was breathing heavily.

"Was it by choice?" he managed to get out in a strained voice.

Euphie had already crawled to the end of the bed with wide terrified eyes. She knew that he knew and her mouth went dry like a desert. She opened it to respond, but not a sound came out.

Suzaku was visibly shaking and clenching his fists until his knuckles were white. He was staring at her even though by doing so he was chipping away at pieces of his heart. "Was it?" he barked out again.

Euphie flinched. "Su-Suzaku please let me explain" Euphie said in a broken voice.

Suzaku let out a sobbing noise and fell to the floor cradling his head. Euphie hopped off the bed and kneeled next to him. When her hand touched his shoulder he pulled away violently. "Don't touch me" Suzaku choked out between his sobs. "Why? Why would you do this to me?"

"Oh Suzaku" Euphie said painfully as more of her own tears started falling. "I didn't mean for it to happen. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"But why?" Suzaku asked again and peeked up at her trying to wrap his head around what was happening. How it could have happened. "I thought you loved me."

"I do Suzaku! God I love you more than I have ever loved anyone in my entire life. You are my soul mate."

"I don't get it. If you loved me, why would you share yourself with another man? I haven't been with anyone except you because you're everything to me."

Euphie was consumed by a storm of guilt looking into his broken pleading face trying to understand why she would betray him. "I was so confused and scared coming back to the World. I thought you had turned into a monster and I felt so unbelievably alone. Orpheus took care of me and became my best friend…I just… He just made me feel safe and I… It felt right. I'm so sorry Suzaku."

Suzaku buried his face again as anger and unbelievable sadness raged inside of his broken body. "Do you love him?" Suzaku finally asked in a broken whisper.

"I will never love anyone like I love you Suzaku" Euphie stated firmly albeit her voice was a little broken and strained.

"Answer the question" Suzaku said back with an edge to his voice.

"I don't know what you want me to say Suzaku. He's my best friend" Euphie said in a tiny voice. She didn't want to lie to Suzaku. She also didn't want to Geass him, but hell it was tempting to take his pain away. A pain she caused by being selfish. "I love you please don't push me away" Euphie pleaded and reached out again.

Suzaku jolted to his feet and took a step back. "Push you away!? That's all you've done to me since you got here and now…now this!?" Suzaku yelled and glared at the broken face below him. Euphie's large lavender eyes were watery and pained and he looked away. "I can't. I can't do this. Just leave me alone. Go back Orpheus. I don't care." Suzaku marched out the door and slammed it behind him.

 **XX - * _suicide attempt*  
_**

Suzaku wasn't even sure how he had gotten back to his room. He had stormed there in a blind daze. He was broken. Unequivocally broken. Everything was too much. He couldn't even function enough to figure out what he was or should be doing. He couldn't calm down. He couldn't breathe. He just couldn't stop fucking shaking.

He ended up in the bathroom splashing cold water on his face trying to cool the lava that was burning him from the inside out. He raised his head and looked into the mirror. What he saw disgusted himself. Euphie was right. He was a monster. He had killed thousands of people and at some point he had stopped caring. He was the Grim Reaper of Britannia and because of that, he had ended up losing Euphie again. Only this time she wasn't dead. This time he was losing her to someone else.

He was burning and cracking inside and out. He couldn't take looking at himself. He growled in frustration and tore the mirror off of the wall and threw it to the ground. It shattered into pieces and Suzaku slumped down next to it. The little glass pieces reflected the light from above. He hated himself. He hated everything. He hated the World.

He quickly scurried over and grabbed a large piece glass. He held it to his wrist with every intention of ending it. He just didn't care anymore. Next thing he knew he was resting against the wall and the glass piece was no longer in his hand. Dammit! He growled in frustration. Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Stupid Lelouch and his damn Geass. Fine. If he couldn't kill himself, he could at least let some of the lava boiling inside of him out. He picked up another glass piece and slashed higher up on his arm.

XXX

Euphie was still sitting on the ground where Suzaku left her. She was in a shattered daze and didn't even realize that she wasn't alone anymore. Lelouch crouched down in front of her and gently grabbed her chin. Euphie blinked a couple of times and made eye contact with him.

"Euphie, are you ok?" Lelouch asked softly.

"No…" Euphie whispered out.

"Is Orpheus Zevon the father?" Lelouch asked keeping his voice calm and soft like he was talking to a scared child.

"Y-yes…" Euphie responded.

"You're going to have to choose Euphie either Suzaku or Orpheus. So choose." Lelouch really needed her to make a choice. If she didn't want Suzaku, then he needed to get her the hell out of here before she destroyed anymore of his friend's frail sanity.

"Suzaku. It's always been and will always be Suzaku" Euphie whispered back firmly and stared into her brother's eyes with conviction.

Lelouch let out a sigh. "Fine. Then get off of your butt and fix the mess you created. I can't have my plans falling to pieces because you slept with someone else."

Euphie stared at him in a stunned silence for a moment before nodding firmly. Lelouch smiled at the determination in those lavender eyes. He stood up gracefully and held out his hand to her. She accepted it and let him drag her down the halls of the Damocles until they were standing in front of a door.

"Well best of luck. Try to put him together again as best as possible" Lelouch turned on heel and strode off.

Euphie looked back at the door and took a deep breath trying to calm the swirling hornets inside of her stomach. She slowly turned the doorknob and crept inside the dark room. She saw the light on in the bathroom and heard the shower spraying water.

She quietly made her way to the door and peeked inside. The first thing she noticed was the broken mirror. Then the blood splatters. That had her rushing into the room and her eyes landed on the huddled body in the shower. Suzaku was curled in around himself fully clothed under the water spray. Dull pink stains littered his clothing. Euphie carefully crept around the broken glass trying not to step on any as she was barefoot. She winced when she felt a small poking sensation, but ignored it.

When her body made contact with the water she jolted. It was freezing cold. She quickly shut it off and carefully moved the glass piece that was lying next to Suzaku away from them. Suzaku was unresponsive and his face was buried behind his knees and arms. His clothes were ripped from where he had cut himself.

"Suzaku…" Euphie called out softly and slowly pushed her fingers through his sopping wet hair. Suzaku made a little whining noise and curled even further in on himself. Euphie continued to run her fingers through his hair. "I can't take back what happened in the past Suzaku, but I want you to be my future. I've always wanted you to be my future. You are my other half. You are my Knight" Euphie continued softly and placed a soft kiss on the top of his head.

Suzaku took a shaky breath. "I have no future to offer you. I'll never be able to show my face again and will always have to live behind a mask or in the shadows. What kind of life is that Euphie? For you? For that child? It isn't a life. You would be better off with Or- with that other guy" Suzaku said in a quiet voice. A voice that was so quiet Euphie had to quit breathing just to hear it.

After a moment where the only thing that happened was Euphie stroking his hair, she spoke up again. "I don't know what the future is going to be like, but you know, it's not like I can really show my face either. I am princess Euphemia li Britannia, Princess Massacre, murderer of the Japanese people. If I have to live the rest of my life in the shadows, I would prefer to have you by my side. We're both broken pieces Suzaku, but together we can be whole."

Suzaku finally raised his head and looked into her face. She was right he was a broken piece and he so desperately wanted to feel whole again. "But what about the baby? How can two shadows raise a child? And what about…Orpheus?" Suzaku cringed having to say the name of the man that had touched his woman. "It's his child. Not mine. He'll probably want to be in his child's life…and yours…"

Euphie rested her forehead against his. "Orpheus knows that I love you and that I was always going to choose you. You're right though, he'll want to be a part of this child's life and I'm going to let him. He's a wonderful person and deserves it." Suzaku let out a little choked sob and Euphie hugged him. "I know it will be hard, but I'm hoping you'll stay with me and we can do it together."

"Euphie, I…" Suzaku was drowning again under the weight of his emotions.

Euphie wrapped his arms around him tighter. "I'm not going anywhere, so please Suzaku live in the shadows with me. Let me be there for you. I won't run away anymore from what we are."

Suzaku pulled back to stare into the strong determined lavender eyes. He knew he was weak, but he couldn't deny his princess anything. He would die for her. He would live for her. Even if they lived in the shadows. He wrapped his fingers around the back of her neck and pulled her into a kiss. A kiss that she didn't fight against. A kiss that she melted into as her body melted and curled around his.

XXXX

"Orpheus meet Kallen Kozuki of the Black Knights" Oaiguro, dressed back up in his Wizard persona, introduced them calmly. "Miss Kozuki this is Orpheus Zevon of Peace Mark."

Orpheus studied the fierce looking red head in front of him with her fiery blue eyes. Eyes that were studying him as well. She held out her hand and Orpheus took it. He had to admit her firm handshake was impressive. This chick meant business even though she still looked pretty young.

"It's a pleasure to have Peace Mark working with us on this. The Wizard said that you were one of the people who successfully boarded the Damocles?" Kallen questioned in a no nonsense manner.

"I was" Orpheus nodded. He had to admit, he already liked this woman. She looked like she was ready to throw down at any moment and kick ass. He had met tough woman in his life before. His sister as an example, but he could tell Kallen was different. There was a fire blazing behind those icy blue eyes.

"Good. We need all the help we can get if we are going to finally put an end to Emperor Lelouch."

Orpheus followed the red head in her black coat, black shorts, and black thigh high boots. He smirked slightly. These Black Knights really liked to be literal in their choice of attire. He had to admit though it was kind of cool and made her look like even more of a bad ass. He had a feeling they were going to get along just fine. She wasn't the only one with fire lingering behind the surface. Orpheus also had a fire lurking behind his minty green eyes. He was determined and he would do anything it took to make sure his wolf was safe.

XXXXX

Euphie had finally managed to get Suzaku out of the shower and out of his wet clothes. She found a first aid kit in the bathroom while Suzaku changed into a dry pair of boxers. When she came back out he was sitting on the bed staring vacantly at a wall. When he heard her, those leafy green eyes locked with hers and Euphie felt a shaky spark run through her heart. He just looked like hell and she was going to do everything in her power to fix him.

She sat down on the bed facing him and he mimicked her. As she cleaned his cuts and bandaged them, she could feel his gaze on her and it left her skin crawling, but it didn't scare her anymore. She wasn't running away. Suzaku was hers and she was his. They needed to learn how to be with each other again.

Suzaku watched her work quietly as he studied her. She really had changed and he didn't just mean the wild messy blue hair. There was something different lurking in the depths of her eyes. They weren't the innocent carefree eyes from the past that he remembered. They were wary, fiery, determined and loving all at the same time. How that was possible, he wasn't sure. She had scars and not just the ones visible on her forehead, but scars on her very soul. She was broken just like him and she was so unbelievably beautiful. Just having her next to him, made him feel a little less broken himself. He watched as she chewed on her lower lip. He could still feel the imprint of those lips on his. At one point he reached out and pulled her lip away from her teeth gently. She let out a shaky breath and it caressed his fingers causing warmth that spread through his body.

When she was done, her eyes flickered up into his and his heart stuttered at the emotion shining through them. He couldn't take it anymore. He wrapped his fingers around her neck and pulled as he leaned forward. When their lips connected again a pleased sigh escaped him. God he loved her so much. He wanted her so much. Euphie buried her fingers in his damp hair and pulled him closer as she parted her lips. A moan escaped her as Suzaku's tongue slid into her mouth. Fire ripped through him as their tongues brushed against each other, but it wasn't the destroying fire from earlier. This fire was completely different. It was hot and buzzing and he tugged at her until she was straddling his lap.

When his fingers grabbed the bottom of her sweatshirt Euphie shivered as chills ran through her, but she didn't fight him when he inched the cotton material off of her. They had to break mouth contact for it to be fully removed, but the moment it was, she was kissing him again. She wanted to absorb his warmth. She needed to. Her body was shaking and she needed him. A pitiful noise escaped her as Suzaku's fingers trailed along the scars on her back.

Suzaku paused his exploring and tugged her closer. His body erupted in heat when her soft chest made contact with his firm muscles. A groan escaped him and he rolled them over until she was caged and protected underneath of him. Never again would he let her get hurt. He hovered above her staring into her flushed face and parted lips. As his heart filled with warmth he leaned down and started leaving soft loving kisses along her cheeks, jaw and neck. He would protect her for the rest of his life. Euphie clung to his back and whined softly as he peppered her with his love. His fingers trailed all over her smooth skin getting reacquainted with it. Memorizing it. When his fingers met the hooks of her bra, he paused. When she didn't say anything, he unclasped it.

Euphie was melting in Suzaku's warmth and heat. She was melting to his soft touches and his little kisses. This was her Suzaku. He was hers and she would never let him go again. She would never push him away. She needed him like oxygen. Instead of fighting against it and running away, she embraced him and arched against his strong chest. Her fingers dipped into the top of his boxers and she pulled down. Suzaku groaned into her neck and his hands quickly mimicked hers freeing her from the sweatpants and underwear she was wearing.

They paused after that and just breathed heavily looking into each other's eyes. Euphie gave a little nod and pulled him down for a kiss. Suzaku melted against her and grabbed at her thigh lifting her slightly. She moaned into his mouth as he slid into the place he always belonged. They were two pieces of one whole and they were finally connected again. Suzaku groaned into her mouth and his fingers dug into her hip as he rocked into and against her. Euphie arched against him and clung to his back as she let herself get lost in a forest of green.

Eventually they broke mouth contact to breathe, but they didn't move away from each other. Euphie would never move away from him and Suzaku would never let her go. They breathed into each other's mouth giving the other person life and fanning the flickering flames. The smoke from the flames was filling Euphie's thought and she couldn't think of anything else except the overwhelming love and need for Suzaku. She buzzed and burned and arched and clung to him until finally she erupted with a groan of Suzaku's name on her tongue. Her body clenched and unclenched rhythmically as her mind became buzzing white noise. Suzaku groaned into her ear and slowed down as he laid his claim on her again. She was his and he hugged her tight as his body cooled.

* * *

 _ **Summary - Suzaku finds out Euphie is pregnant and kind a goes a little bat shit crazy, but don't worry Euphie goes to save the day! They decide to live their lives in the shadows together and have some steamy makeup sex. Orpheus is still working on saving his wolf not knowing that she really doesn't need the saving. He meets Kallen and thinks she's one bad ass lady. Umm...yep lame summary, but that's pretty much it.** _


	20. Zero Requiem

**Comment to vote -** _So I'm going to let people comment their opinions if they want about who Orpheus should end up with...well because he can't end up with Euphie. She's Suzaku's gal after all, but Orpheus needs some tender loving too. If you want to weigh in who the broody blonde should end up with, leave a comment. I know who I'm leaning towards, but I thought I'd open it up to readers if they are interested. For fun._

* * *

"You're really worried about her huh?" Miss X commented as she sat down on the couch where Orpheus was sharpening his daggers. She twirled a piece of her white hair in her fingers as her gray eyes studied him.

"Of course I'm worried. She was captured by the Emperor of Britannia" Orpheus responded in exasperation. Euphie was all he had been thinking about for weeks while they plotted and planned. Time was ticking away and he was wondering if she was ok. What was happening to her?...If she had made up with Suzaku… He groaned in frustration and set the dagger down as he fell against the back of the couch.

"She's lucky to have a boyfriend that cares as much as you do…" Miss X commented lightly and kept her curious gaze locked on the handsome young man next to her.

His gorgeous minty eyes flicked to her. "I'm not her boyfriend. We're just friends" he replied sullenly. His thoughts drifting back to Euphie and that evil bastard Kururugi. Seriously what did he have that Orpheus didn't? Yeah he was attractive and no that did not make Orpheus gay for admitting it. Suzaku Kururugi was all lean muscle, tan skin, dark green eyes and hell did Orpheus need to quit thinking about this.

"Oh…" Miss X commented lightly. "Well I'm sure if she doesn't want to date you, there are plenty of other women that do" Miss X added with just the tiniest of hints in her tone and the tiniest of fingers crawling up his arm.

Orpheus flinched and his eyes darted towards her again. He took in the little coy smile and sparkling gray eyes. He felt his face heat up and stood up quickly. "I'm going to go check on how the knightmare frames are coming along" he said quickly as he bolted from the room. What the hell was that all about? He contemplated it as he walked through the halls.

Orpheus was still thinking about how weird Miss X had been acting when he walked into the giant warehouse. His eyes instantly landed on the fierce redhead. She was standing next to a woman with long lilac colored hair and bright green eyes behind thin framed glasses. The delicate looking woman in a blue military coat dress was pointing at the knightmare frame dubbed Alexander. When Kallen caught him out of the peripheral of her eye, she turned and smiled at him.

"Hey Oz. It's nice of you to join us, we were just talking about the knightmares. This is Anna Clement from the Europia United. She developed the Alexander."

Orpheus looked at the feminine woman next to Kallen in a whole new light. Impressive is all he could think. He held out his hand and her delicate cool hand slid into his. "It's nice to meet you" Orpheus said politely. "So how's everything going? Is there anything I can help with?"

"Actually there is" Kallen started, but was interrupted by Ayame Futaba running up to them.

She was a young woman with plum colored curled hair and brown eyes. Unlike Kallen's black getup, Ayame dressed in a skin tight black and yellow shirt, a short pink skirt and light pink thigh high nylons. Her face turned a rosy pink to match those nylons when she looked at Orpheus ever so briefly. "Um…" Ayame started a little out of breath from running. "I've been looking everywhere for you Kallen. Kaguya is finally here with the United Federation of Nations representatives and she wants to talk to you in private first."

Kallen nodded. "Anna can you fill in Oz about what we were discussing?"

Anna nodded and Orpheus watched as Kallen walked away. Damn she had a confident stride. He blinked and turned his attention back to Anna as she started talking. He noted that Anna had a pretty musical little voice and that she was kind of genius. Where did all these impressive young women come from? It definitely went against the stereotype that all young women cared about was shopping and boys.

Orpheus could have spent the rest of the day talking to Anna about different knightmare specks, but when Kallen pulled him aside asking him to come with her, he followed obediently. Kallen Kozuki just had that power to bend him to her will, he was just a tad bit intimidated. Not that he would ever admit it out loud. No he would not because Orpheus wasn't about to admit to being scared of a young lady. Even if that young lady had muscles everywhere. It was hard to miss especially those thigh muscles that showed under her short shorts. He was drawn from his musings of Kallen's muscles by a high pitched squeal.

His eyes landed on a short teenage girl with pale skin and pitch black hair. Her emerald green eyes scanned him quickly before she was attaching onto his arm excitedly.

"Who's this muscled young man?" The overly touchy young lady questioned.

"Orpheus Zevon or Oz – Peace Mark. Kaguya Sumeragi – United Federation of Nations" Kallen introduced them gesturing to each one. Orpheus noted the little amusement flickering in her icy blues.

Orpheus kindly detached the clinging teenage girl with her giant eyes and he kind of hid behind Kallen. Not that he would ever admit to doing it. He just felt super awkward being clung onto by this cute girl with her blinding confident smile.

"It's nice to meet you finally Oz. I've heard great things through the grapevine" Kaguya said charmingly. Her innocent eyes flipped to something firm. "Well let's get down to business to finally take Lelouch down."

Orpheus listened in awe thinking once again that this girl seemed way too young to be so well versed in politics and military business. She had thoroughly surprised him and when they were joined a short time later by Empress Tianzi, he was even more shocked. The white haired Empress couldn't be more than 13 or something, but again it appeared politics was second nature to her. He also couldn't stop thinking that if it was these two teenagers running the World it would be a hell of a lot more peaceful and harmonious.

It was determined they would launch their combined assault on the Damocles in two days and Orpheus was more than ready. He was buzzing with anticipation and determination.

XX

Orpheus groaned as the light assaulted his eyes that were just cracking open. Fuck his head hurt. He tried to remember what happened, but the last thing he actually remembers was getting hit in the head from flying debris. How the hell did he get so careless running around the Damocles? He should have been more aware of his surroundings, but he had been distracted by the overwhelming need to find Euphie and get the hell out of there.

He cracked his eyes open again fighting against the glare of the light. Where the fuck was he? He tried to move his wrists, but found them bound to a chair. Next he tried to move his legs, but they were also bound. Shit! He groaned in frustration. He had been captured. Of course he had been captured. Dammit!

Eventually a door slid open and Orpheus could have died with relief when his eyes landed on messy blue hair. His eyebrows furrowed though at the obvious Britannia military garb and the visor covering those lavender eyes. A visor that was quickly ripped off as Euphie ran to him and dropped on her knees looking up into his face with those wide expressive eyes.

"Are you ok Orpheus?" Euphie asked with concern as she cupped his cheek gently.

"Yeah…I'm ok…" Orpheus started slowly as his brain tried to play catch up on her appearance. "Are you ok?" he asked after a moment.

Euphie gave him a small smile and nodded. "Yeah for the most part."

Orpheus frowned again as he looked at her clothes. "Why are you wearing that?"

Euphie looked down at herself. "Oh…right…" she said slowly and then looked up into his eyes again a little sheepishly. "I…uh… I'm kind of working from the inside now" she stated slowly. "But don't worry! Everything will work out just fine! You'll see! This is almost all over and then the World will finally be at peace."

Orpheus couldn't stop the foreboding that was coursing through him. This didn't sound like his Wolfey…This was bordering on bat shit crazy Marybell. "Wolfey…what the hell is going on with you? How can you possibly be working with Lelouch? After everything he's done to you? To the World?"

Euphie chewed on her lip and averted her gaze. "I know it's hard to understand and I can't tell you everything right now, but I promise you it will be alright. Trust me Orpheus" Euphie looked at him with pleading eyes and grasped his hands.

"What about Suzaku? Are you back together with him now?" Orpheus didn't want to ask. He really didn't, but he had to. He had to know if he was being left alone again chained to this chair to rot away. He watched as Euphie's eyes flickered to sadness and tears started to pool up in them.

God she didn't want to lie. She really didn't. Not to Orpheus, but in order for Zero Requiem to work the whole World needed to believe it. That included Orpheus. She wasn't faking the tears in her eyes. They were real. She was going to lie to her best friend and she was going to let him go at the same time. She was going to let the father of her child go, so she could live in the shadows with man her heart belonged to. It hurt. Orpheus was beautiful and strong. He was so good.

"I…" Euphie took a deep breath. She could do this. She had to do this. "Suzaku died in the attack Orpheus."

Orpheus took in a deep breath of air as the words registered in his mind. His Wolfey had just lost the person her heart belonged to. He knew that feeling all too well and his heart swelled in pain for her. It also swelled with a little bit of hope. Maybe he wouldn't be left alone again after all. "Oh Wolfey…" he said quietly and instinctively reached out to soothe her, but then frowned when he remembered he was bound.

"There's more…" Euphie said and continued to keep eye contact with those minty greens even though it tore at her. "We did make up before he died and I fully gave myself to him. Even if he's gone, I can't go backwards. I belong to him always and forever. I'm sorry."

Orpheus's eyes flickered with pain and he couldn't hide it. The rejection burned through him and it hurt. He was confused. Why? He now knew that locking your heart away after a loved one died didn't bring you any peace and Euphie was locking her heart away from him.

"There's still more I have to confess to you…" Euphie continued and bit her lip. Her eyes averted again and Orpheus's heart pounded in his chest as anxiety and hurt squirmed through it. "I won't let anything happen to you Orpheus. You'll be ok. I won't let our child grow up without a father."

Orpheus had quit breathing entirely and just gaped at her. "W-what!?" He choked out. He felt his whole body break into tremors as new emotions tore through his already wrecked body.

"Surprise I'm pregnant" Euphie said lightly and gave him a sad smile.

"How?" Orpheus responded still in shock and his eyes darted everywhere as he tried to process this. "And I'm the father. You're sure?"

Euphie snorted and cupped his cheek directing his gaze back on hers. "Yes. I'm sure. I'm about 2 months along. I know this is going to be tough and weird since we won't be together, but I'm keeping this child and I want you to be a part of his or her life…well if you want to?"

"I…I…I don't even know what to say…" Orpheus floundered under the unbelievable pressure he was feeling.

Euphie stood up and placed a soft kiss on his forehead. "I know it's a lot to take in, but I wanted everything out in the open."

"C-can you untie me?" Orpheus asked in a strained whisper.

Euphie looked into his face that was cupped between her hands. Her thumb caressed his cheek gently. "Promise me you won't do anything stupid Orpheus. I need to protect you and I can't do that if you try to break out. I promise you will be free before you know it, but you'll have to wait here for a little bit. If I untie you, you have to promise to behave."

Orpheus frowned at the thought of being a prisoner, but he did trust Euphie. He would behave because really there was only one thing on his mind right now. He was going to be a father. He was going to have a child with this beautiful woman. He nodded slowly. "I promise. Please untie me."

Euphie knelt down in front of him and started to untie his ankles. She then moved up to his wrists. When the last rope fell away, she held her breath not sure what was coming next. She let out a shaky exhale when Orpheus dropped to the ground and wrapped her in his arms. She returned the hug and buried her face into his shoulder.

"Euphie. Let me be with you. We can raise this child together. I love you. Let me love you" Orpheus said in a broken voice against her untamed hair.

Euphie tightened the hold she had around him and let out a little choked sob. "I can't. I'm sorry. I can't be together with you like that. I made Suzaku a promise Orpheus and I have every intention of keeping it. I won't ever betray him again whether he's with me or not."

"Wolfey…you're killing me here" Orpheus said in a broken voice.

"I know…I'm sorry…" Euphie whispered back. "You'll always be my best friend whether you want to be or not."

"I want to. I will be your best friend. I just wish you would let me be more…For you and for our child" Orpheus whispered back and laid his hand on her stomach. Euphie laid her hand on top of his.

"I wish it was that simple Orpheus, but it's not" Euphie said sadly and continued to hug her best friend as he cried quietly against her shoulder.

XXX

A little lit later there was a knock on the door. Euphie quickly scrambled to put her visor back on and stood up from Orpheus just as the door opened. Gino in all his blonde muscled glory strode in followed by Claudio Darlton with his fawn brown hair and narrowed blue eyes.

"Alright visiting time is over" Gino said casually. His aquamarine eyes carefully taking in the state of the unbound prisoner sitting in a dazed state on the floor with puffy red eyes. He cocked a blonde eyebrow at the mysterious blue haired woman that Lelouch had accepted into the ranks with no questions asked. He couldn't help to wonder about her. Especially with the evidence of a red puffiness on those pale cheeks. Her own eyes were hidden behind that visor that never came off. He wasn't sure she could be trusted and this only fueled his suspicion. Something strange was going on here. He also couldn't help feeling like he had seen her before and should know who she was, but the name Lina Wolfhart didn't ring any bells.

Orpheus numbly got to his feet and let the two men drag him from the room. His eyes darted back to Euphie one last time and she smiled at him softly and mouthed trust me. With a wave of her delicate hand, she disappeared out of his line of sight. He quietly walked between the two men and quietly put up with Gino's rambling and questioning. He didn't feel like talking to anyone right now. His whole life had just been thrown off the tracks and he was trying to come to terms with it.

He was sitting in a little prison cell lost in his own little thoughts. He didn't even register the voice calling to him until a shoe hit the side of his face. His hand flew to the spot and his eyes flew to the fiery redhead in the cell next to him. Her icy blue eyes glaring at him before flipping to concern.

"Hey Oz are you ok?" Kallen asked as she sat down on her side of the bars.

Orpheus tried to pull himself out of the deep dive he had been in. He took a shaky deep breath and shook his head. "No…I'm not ok…" Orpheus mumbled and buried his face into his hands.

Kallen watched him with growing concern. "Hey come here" she called out softly. "Please."

Orpheus took another deep breath and stood up on shaky legs. He dropped down in front of her on his side of the bars, but refused to make eye contact. He was so thoroughly shaken up that he honestly didn't know up from down at the moment. The cold hand to his cheek snapped his attention back to the woman in front of him. Concern was swimming rampant in those blue pools.

"What happened?" Kallen asked softly.

"I…I'm going to be a dad…" Orpheus whispered in a confused tone.

"Oh" Kallen carefully pulled her hand back through her own bar. She chewed on her lip and thought about her next question. He seemed too upset about it. Shouldn't having a child be a good thing? He looked completely wrecked. "So…who's the mom?" She flinched when a choked sob broke from him and he buried his face into his hands.

"Lina Wolfhart…My wolf, but she doesn't want to be my wolf. She chose Suzaku and she won't let me back in" Orpheus said between his quiet sobs.

Kallen frowned heavily and her brows furrowed. "Suzaku is dead…I killed him…" Kallen said softly. A part of her felt complete satisfaction at eliminating him another smaller part felt sorrow. Suzaku had been her friend at one point. Also, she had never known Suzaku had a romantic partner. There was some speculation about him and princess Euphemia when she was alive, but she had never even heard of a Lina Wolfhart.

"She told me… But she still won't be with me… I don't know what to do. Why won't she be with me? Why can't we raise our child as a couple? I knew she was always going to pick Suzaku over me, but he's dead now. I just don't get it."

Kallen was at a loss. She was never good at comforting people to begin with. "I have no idea…" she responded quietly.

XXXX

Orpheus thought maybe he did kind of get it after he watched a new Zero shove a sword through Emperor Lelouch's chest. He watched as the Emperor slid down the podium leaving a trail of blood only to land in his traumatized baby sister's lap. The new Zero made a lovely little speech and then Orpheus watched as Euphie, dressed in a white wolf get up helmet and all, swooped down and carefully picked up princess Nunnally carrying her away from the bloodied body of their older brother. He knew it was her without even seeing her face. She walked up and stood next to the new Zero. Showing a united front with the World's liberator and their new kind hearted leader that was sobbing and had quit struggling to get back to Lelouch after Euphie whispered something into her ear.

Orpheus thought he finally understood what was going on. It seemed bat shit crazy and way too out there to be true, but he couldn't stop the suspicion that had taken root in the depths of his mind. Especially when Euphie cut him free from where he was bound and he saw Zero staring directly at them. He could literally feel the burning in that gaze hidden from the World. The reason why Euphie wouldn't choose him was because Suzaku Kururugi wasn't dead. Suzaku Kururugi was the new Zero and he had murdered the Emperor to set the World free of his tyranny. An Emperor who wasn't really dead because Orpheus knew he had V2's code and was immortal. He couldn't quite wrap his mind around it, but in some weird way it kind of made crazy sense. Or maybe he was just kind of going crazy.

"See I told you to trust me" Euphie said amidst the chaos as she cupped his face. "Everything will be ok from now on. I have to go now, but I'll talk to you soon."

Orpheus's eyes scanned the area as more prisoners were freed, as the crowd cheered, as the Demon Emperor's body was drug away and as Euphie climbed back up the podium to stand next to Zero and the new Empress of Britannia. His eyes caught sight of an angry Cornelia shoving her way to that podium. When she got there, she stood protectively in front of Nunnally and glared at Zero and his wolf. Euphie flipped the visor of the mask for a split second and it had Cornelia crumpling to the ground with wide eyes. Orpheus let himself be dragged from the chaotic scene by Kallen and thanked her silently for looking out for him because at that moment, he wasn't capable of doing it himself.

XXXXX

That night Euphie flopped down on the bed thoroughly exhausted. It had been one crazy exciting day that was for sure. Lelouch and CC made a clean break for it. Poor traumatized Nunnally was filled in on everything. Cornelia had been a handful to deal with to put it lightly. They had finally gotten her to calm the hell down and she was finally convinced that she didn't need to smother Euphie. It was nearing 1 in the morning and every bone in her body felt like it weighed a ton. The click of the bedroom door drew her attention and she sat up.

Zero strode gracefully into the room and let out a sigh. The helmet releases echoed in the quiet room and Suzaku's beautiful face appeared. He shook his fluffy brown hair and pulled the black cloth down that was covering his mouth taking a deep breath. Euphie stood up and paused in front of him. She ran her fingers through his helmet hair and flushed it back up.

"Hey" she whispered quietly. "How are you feeling?"

"Exhausted" Suzaku said as he pulled her against his chest. He rested his head against hers and inhaled her flowery scent.

Euphie stroked his back making little circular patterns. "You did good today…"

Suzaku let out a little sarcastic puff of air. "Which part? Where I stabbed my best friend through the heart or where I fooled the World into believing I'm a hero?"

Euphie cupped his cheeks and kissed that frowning mouth softly. "I guess both…and you are a hero Suzaku no matter how you get there."

"I don't feel like a hero. I feel like a fraud. How am I supposed to stand by Nunnally and proclaim to be her protector? Nunnally is an angel and I'm just a demon in disguise."

"You are not a demon and you are not alone. We're in this together. Your sins are my sins. We'll both protect Nunnally. Do you understand?" Euphie kissed his jaw and ran her fingers through his hair again.

Suzaku melted against her. "Please don't ever leave me again" Suzaku whispered in a broken plea.

"I promise I won't" Euphie pulled him down for a kiss.

She licked his top lip and he obeyed with a shaky exhale as she slid her tongue into his mouth. She might think she's a fallen angel, but to Suzaku she will always be an angel. His angel. His savior. He groaned approvingly as her nimble fingers went to work on the multiple fastenings of the costume prison he had given to himself. His own skilled fingers went to work on her own white costume representative of wolf. The creature she identified with now days, but she wasn't a lone wolf anymore. She had him.

It didn't take long before Suzaku was lifting her into the air and relishing the skin to skin contact. It felt so unbelievable perfect and they fit together so perfectly. Her pale skin on his tan skin was beautiful. Her soft hands felt like heaven especially when they laid down on the bed and she wrapped them around him stroking gently but with just the right amount of pressure. Suzaku kissed down her chest tasting her and loving the slight salty taste that was at odds with the floral scent of her. He briefly paused when he got to her stomach and a wave of uncomfortable feelings washed over him. He sat up and frowned slightly as a little bubble of hurt popped inside of him.

Euphie noticed and quickly sat up facing him. She cupped his face and directed his gaze away from the little bump on her stomach. Her thumbs caressed his cheeks. "Hey look at me" Euphie said softly and placed a quick peck on his nose.

Suzaku met her lavender gaze and his own softened in response. "Sorry…" Suzaku mumbled. "It's just hard to come to terms with…"

Euphie kissed him softly. "I know, but it will all work out. You've got me. I promised I'm not going anywhere and I meant it. Just lie down and relax ok?"

Suzaku let out a shaky breath and complied. Euphie crawled on top of him and propped herself up on her elbows. Suzaku let out a please sigh as he nibbled at the area right under his ear. "I love you Suzaku Kururugi" she whispered into his ear before licking a path up the shell.

Suzaku's hands found purchase on her waist and squeezed. "I love you to Euphemia li Britannia. I promise to always be your Knight."

Suzaku squirmed lightly and his breathing picked up as Euphie shimmied her way down his body kissing, nipping and tasting as she went. He let out a breathy moan when that beautiful charming mouth encompassed him. His hips arched off the bed as her tongue danced against him. She hummed and he moaned again as vibrations tickled his nerves. His fingers buried themselves into blue strands of hair. When her other hand, the one not busy trailing her mouth, moved to tickle his sensitive dangly bits, Suzaku arched off the bed and released into that wonderfully hot mouth.

When Euphie resurfaced wiping the sides of her mouth, Suzaku watched with lidded tired eyes. "Do you want-" he started, but was cut off by Euphie snuggling up to him and kissing him gently.

"What I want Suzaku is for you to hold me and never let me go no matter what" Euphie whispered against his lips before kissing him one last time. She then snuggled into his arms that wrapped around her protectively.


	21. Living in the Shadows

Ok, so Orpheus found it a little entertaining that the World was now being run by a bunch of teenage girls. Not that he was complaining. They were a set of very impressive young ladies and they kind of rocked. It was sort of weird adjusting to the new world though. Now that he didn't have anything or anyone left to fight, he wasn't quite sure what to do with himself. All he did now days was sit at home and think. Too many questions were still unanswered. Like where the hell did Lelouch disappear to? Is it really Suzaku behind the Zero mask protecting Empress Nunnally? When the hell was Euphie going to actually show up and freaking talk to him? He had been watching from a distance during all the resulting meetings after Lelouch's fall and even though Euphie tried to cover it, her stomach was getting bigger. He was freaking going nuts without having a proper conversation with the mother of his child. He really needed to understand where they stood with each other and how the hell this was going to work.

Orpheus groaned and drew his hand over his face. Dammit. He was doing it again. Getting all broody and frustrated. With one more frustrated sigh, he pulled himself out of bed. Coffee. He needed so much coffee. Hell he wished he could just bathe in the stuff. Then maybe he wouldn't be so tired.

He was going to stop by the bathroom to take care of his morning business, but found the door shut with the shower running. He frowned at the door and continued onwards. It wasn't like he really wanted to get an eye full. He would just have to hold it and suffer through the wait. How he wished they had found a house to rent that had more than one bathroom. His frown turned into a little smirk as he entered the kitchen.

There hunched over on the island counter, burying her face into her arm, with her own coffee cup was the lovely Kallen Kozuki. Bad ass fighter she may be, but she was also a grouchy ass morning person. Orpheus thanked her internally though when he saw coffee still in that glorious crappy coffee pot. He poured himself a cup and then leaned back on other counter top and studied the redhead who completely ignored him. "Morning Kozuki, you and Gino have a late night?" Orpheus asked a little cheerfully to maybe try and piss her off. Just a tad bit.

"Shut up Oz" Kallen growled into her arm.

"I'm guessing that's lover boy in the shower right now?"

Kallen peeked her eyes out of her arm cave to glare at him. "Don't say things like that. You'll make me hurl."

Orpheus shrugged and continued to sip on his coffee. "From what I can tell if you guys aren't going to state you're an official couple, then Gino is undoubtedly your _lover_. You're plaything….You're _fuck buddy_." Orpheus dodged the burnt piece of toast and laughed.

"Yeah well at least I'm getting some. When are you finally going to cave and let that Miss X jump you?" Kallen teased back with an evil glint in those bright blue eyes.

Orpheus shivered and made a mock terrified face. "Are you kidding? That woman is terrifying." Kallen laughed at him. "Plus not really looking for a relationship at the moment. Still trying to get a grasp on the whole dad thing."

"Oh right. When is your baby momma finally going to show up and talk with you?"

Orpheus shrugged and averted his gaze. "Don't know. It's kind of up to her I guess. It's not like I can waltz up to her at any of those meetings and be like 'hey what are we doing with this kid?' I just have to wait."

Kallen frowned. "Well I don't think it's very fair of her."

Luckily or unluckily depending how you look at it, Orpheus was saved by a towel clad, still dripping, manly Gino sauntering into the kitchen. "Good morning my rays of sunshine."

"Gino go put some clothes on" Kallen grumbled at him.

"Aw come on, you love it when I'm naked. Orpheus doesn't mind" Gino responded cheerfully and grabbed his own cup of coffee. "So what are the grouchy people planning today?"

"Trying to remain patient, so I don't pummel you" Kallen replied and glared at the overly grinning blonde. Gino leaned down and kissed her.

"Ugh. Please don't. I promised Kaguya that I would be her personal body guard slash bag holder as she goes shopping with some friends."

Kallen raised her brows and smirked. "You know, you spend an awful lot of time in Kaguya's company. Not planning on ruining her innocence are you?"

Orpheus sputtered on his coffee before glaring back at the grinning lovers. "Don't even joke about that. She's 16 for crying out loud. I'm just trying to make a living and she's a friend."

"Uh huh" Kallen rolled her eyes.

"I can totally see it" Gino said after an appraising moment. "Innocent big eyed girls is totally your thing."

"Oh my god. I'm leaving to take a shower" Orpheus groaned and stomped out of the room.

"Try not to have too much fun in there. The rest of us need to use it as well" Gino called out to him.

"Shut up" Orpheus yelled back.

XX

Euphie sighed as she laid in bed awake. She had woken up too early, but didn't get up. Nope instead she stared up at the ceiling as anxiety slithered through her. Today was the day. She was going to go visit Orpheus and it was nerve wracking. She really didn't know where to start or what to say. They had seen each other from afar a couple of times and when they were close enough to talk, none of it had been about the little baby growing inside of her. She felt so unbelievably guilty for not going to talk to him instantly, but things were kind of hectic around the place.

Nunnally had needed the support, so Euphie did everything she could to make the transition easier. Cornelia had barely left her side and it was slightly suffocating. Schneizel, despite how careful she had been, had discovered her secret and hell that was just annoying. All the questions and over brothering. Euphie supposed she should feel lucky that her older siblings knew who she was and wanted to protect her, but she didn't need protecting. Not anymore and it was a pain trying to keep Zero's identity a secret when the two of them kept a very close eye on her. They couldn't be intimate anywhere besides in one of their bedrooms incase Cornelia or Schneizel were watching and they were always fucking watching. Even if it was just one of their little spies.

Suzaku rolled over and looked at her with foggy eyes. "Hey…" came a groggy greeting.

Euphie smiled and rolled on her side to look straight at him. She brushed some fluffy brown hair out of his face. It was getting long. She mused about cutting it herself. Not that she had the best track record for cutting hair. "Hey back at you." Euphie leaned over and kissed his nose.

Suzaku let out a pleased hum and scooted closer wrapping his arm around her back. "It's early. What are you doing up?"

"Couldn't fall back asleep. I'm nervous to go see Orpheus today."

Suzaku frowned and let out an irritated puff of air. "Are you sure you have to? I can come with you know…if you want me to…"

Euphie snuggled closer and left a little peck on his cheek. "I'm pretty sure having Zero follow me around all day will draw a lot of attention." She left another little peck a little closer to his mouth. "It will be fine. I have to do this if he is going to be a part of his kid's life."

Suzaku let out a little disappointed noise. "He doesn't have to be… I can be the kid's dad…"

Euphie cupped his face and rubbed her thumb gently on his cheek. "Suzaku you will be his dad, but Orpheus deserves the chance to know his son and this kid deserves to know Orpheus."

"Fiiinnnneee" Suzaku said in a pouty voice and rolled over. God did he hate this. He didn't know if he'd ever be fully comfortable with the idea that Orpheus would always have a role in their lives. He knew that Euphie loved the man and hell did that sit like a little poisonous rock in his stomach.

"Nope. Pouting isn't allowed" Euphie said lightly and wrapped her arms around Suzaku. She started kissing and biting at his neck as her fingers caressed patterns against his bare chest. She propped herself up and started kissing towards his ear and once she got there, she pulled it in-between her teeth.

Suzaku let out a sigh and rotated slightly to be able to look into her face. Euphie smiled lovingly down at him and place a gentle kiss onto his mouth. When she was about to pull away, Suzaku grabbed ahold of the back of her neck and held her in place. Euphie smiled against his lips as he pulled her back down. After a while the gentle kiss was replaced with a firmer one that included the use of tongues.

Suzaku groaned as smooth cool fingers dipped inside of his loose pajama pants. Euphie used her other hand to roll him onto his back and Suzaku put up absolutely no resistance. When Euphie broke their slow tongue dance to breathe, Suzaku smiled up at her. "Are you trying to distract me from being jealous?"

Euphie smirked back and rested her forehead against his. "Is it working?" she asked back and added a little squeeze with her hand.

Suzaku's hips lifted a fraction and he took a shaky breath. "Maybe…" he replied a little breathlessly.

Euphie started to leave kisses down his jaw as her hand continued to move on him. "I know how to turn that maybe into a yes…" she responded as she bit down on the side of his neck. Her tongue caressed the spot.

Suzaku took a deep breath through his nose and his own hands started venturing forth to touch. "Yeah…?"

"Yeah. Can you grab me the lube?" Euphie asked as she inched his pants off of his hips and pushed the blanket away.

Suzaku's body broke out into a shiver. His body was hot and the cool morning air sent goosebumps crawling. He hastily reached over for his nightstand and fished out the little bottle.

Euphie gave him a kiss when he handed it to her. "Thanks dear." She proceeded to put a generous amount on her hand. When she touched him again, Suzaku let out a little hiss. It didn't take long for that slicked up hand to move quickly on him. His air supply was slowly dwindling as his mouth was cut off by soft lips and a hot adventuring tongue. Suzaku groaned and writhed as his brain melted to the stimulation. His toes curled and then it was over way too soon for his liking. He fell boneless back on the mattress and watched with lidded eyes as Euphie rolled out of bed. Her nightgown falling back down from where it had ridden up. Damn did he want her, so damn much. It's just every time they started anything recently, he would freak out because of the baby bump and they never ended up having sex. He felt guilty, but Euphie never complained. She never pushed. God he loved her so damn much.

She came back a moment later with a warm wet rag and cleaned his stomach off. After she crawled back into the bed, Suzaku wound himself around her. "I'm sorry" he whispered into her blue strands of hair. She continued to dye it just in case anyone saw her.

"There's nothing to apologize for. Go back to sleep ok?" Euphie snuggled in deeper into the protective hold.

"Only if you do" Suzaku responded quietly.

"Sure." She did really try, it just never happened. Eventually, Suzaku's breathing evened out and a quiet snore occasionally slipped out. Euphie smiled and left a little peck on his hand before replacing it back over her heart.

Later that day, she slowly climbed the steps of Orpheus's house. It was a quaint little house with light green siding and a white door. She held her breath and knocked. A moment later the door swung open and Orpheus appeared. They just stared at each other for a moment before Orpheus seemed to snap out of his daze and gesture her inside.

"Hey…" Orpheus mumbled awkwardly and scratched the back of his neck.

"Hi" Euphie responded with a smile. "How have you been?"

Orpheus let out a little sarcastic snort. "Peachy." After a moment of silence, he sighed in defeat and continued. "Well come on in and have a seat. No point in standing in the entrance way all day."

"No that would be silly. Well unless you are planning to throw me out right away…" Euphie responded lightly, but her gaze was questioning.

"I'm not throwing you out Wolfey…Come on" Orpheus led the way into the living room and plopped down on the chair.

Euphie sat down on the couch and glanced around. After an extended period of silence, she finally couldn't take it anymore. "So… This is a nice house…"

Orpheus shrugged. "I guess…" He sighed again and drew his hand over his face. "This is weird. I don't even know where to start."

Euphie gave him a sad smile. "I'm not sure either… umm… I guess I'll just start… we're having a little boy."

Orpheus looked up from the floor he was having a staring contest with. "Really?" His voice held a little hint of excitement.

"Yep." Euphie smiled at him. "So we're going to have to think up some good names that go with Zevon."

Orpheus blinked. "You want the kid to have my last name…?"

Euphie shrugged. "Yeah…It's the only real name. I want our kid to have a real name, not a made up one and if Britannia is tacked on, it will draw a lot of unwanted attention."

Orpheus sat in silence again mulling over everything. "Ok… Zevon then…" He chewed on his lip and glanced back over at the woman on the couch who was watching him with nervous eyes. "Wolfey… Is Suzaku the one behind that Zero mask?"

Those nervous eyes flew wide with surprise and Euphie's mouth dropped open before quickly snapping shut. Her eyes turned guarded. "Suzaku is dead Orpheus" Euphie replied carefully.

Orpheus let out a sarcastic bark of laughter. "Don't lie to me Wolfey. I'm not stupid and I have every right to know whose going to be a part of _my_ kid's life growing up. I'm going to ask you again. Is Suzaku Zero?"

Euphie stared at him with large shocked eyes. She was quiet for a couple of seconds and Orpheus watched as she had an inner monologue with herself. Finally she sighed and threw her hands up in defeat. "Fine. Fine, but Orpheus you can't tell anyone. I mean it. No one can know he's still alive."

Orpheus shook his head and a sarcastic chuckle escaped him. "Greeaattt. My kids going to grow up with the Grim Reaper as another father figure. Fan-fucking-tastic."

Euphie looked taken aback for a moment before taking a deep breath. She leaned forward with her hands on her knees and met Orpheus's eyes evenly. "I don't for a second condone what they did Orpheus, but they didn't do it to be evil. They wanted the world to join together against them, so that when they were gone, it would be an era of peace."

Orpheus snorted and rolled his eyes. "So where did that Demon slink off to?"

Euphie glared at him and then sighed. She ran a hand through her hair and flopped back against the couch. "I don't know. He plans on never being found again, so chances are we'll never know." Euphie chewed on her cheek and studied the blonde sitting on the chair with a little scowl on his face. "You aren't going to tell anyone are you? I love Suzaku and he's trying to make up for all the wrong he did to the world, so please Orpheus give him a chance. Trust me."

Orpheus groaned and stood up from the chair. He made his way over to the couch and plopped down next to Euphie with her large panicked eyes. He gave her a sideways glance and then ruffled her hair. "I won't tell anyone…but if I even get a sniff of that man acting like a monster again, I _will_ be taking me child away from him. I won't let you stop me. I don't like this Wolfey not one goddamn bit."

Euphie relaxed into the hand ruffling her hair. "I know…I'm sorry…but I'm not letting this child go and I'm not letting Suzaku go either. So please just trust that I know what I'm doing Orpheus" Euphie pleaded again and looked at him with large pleading eyes.

"I can't believe I'm agreeing to this…" Orpheus grumbled. They fell into silence for a while lost in their own thoughts. Eventually Orpheus took a deep breath and looked at the woman next to him. "So boy…?"

Euphie smiled back. "Boy. Do you want to feel? Sometimes you can feel him kicking or moving…" Euphie gestured to her stomach.

Orpheus made an uncomfortable face because he felt hell-a uncomfortable. None the less though, he let Euphie place his hand on her stomach. His eyes flew open when he felt movement and he looked into Euphie's grinning face. "H-he moved…" Orpheus said in wonder.

"Yeah…he did. Now we just have to figure out a name, so we can quit referring to him as the baby."

Orpheus frowned thoughtfully. "Doesn't Suzaku have an opinion on this?"

Euphie shrugged. "He said that we should decide since we are his birth parents. He's fine with whatever we decide."

"Oh…ok…" Orpheus fell silent and just continued to marvel at the little movement he felt occasionally under his hand. After a while he spoke up quietly. "I like Oren…"

Euphie smiled at him and his pink cheeks. "Sticking with the Oz theme huh?"

Orpheus shrugged and averted his gaze. "I guess…"

Euphie grabbed his chin and directed his gaze back to hers. "Oren is nice. I like it too."

Orpheus smiled. "Ok then."

There moment of comfortable silence was interrupted by the front door banging open. A moment later a flushed wide eyed Kaguya ran into the room. "Orpheus you aren't going to-" Kaguya's excited babbling dried up as he looked at the pregnant woman with pink cheeks sitting on the couch. Orpheus had stood up quickly and his face was flushed a dark rosy color. Kaguya shook her head to clear it and then smiled at the vaguely familiar woman chilling on her man's couch. Well he wasn't really her man. Not yet anyways. She had plans and was plotting her steps carefully, but the moment she turned 18 she would be all over that delicious blonde. "Um…hello. I don't think we've been properly introduced. I'm Kaguya Sumeragi." She walked over and held her hand out to the pregnant lady that was getting to her feet.

"I know who you are Kaguya. I'm Line Wolfhart. One of Nunnally's guards. The one in the white wolf getup."

Kaguya gave her an appraising glance with her large green eyes. "Oh! That makes sense! You haven't been around lately."

Euphie smiled at the short girl with long black hair framing her delicate pale face. "Well as you can see. It's hard to protect someone in this condition. My kid comes first after all."

Kaguya nodded in agreement and then glanced thoughtfully between the blue haired woman and her hunky blonde. "So…what are you doing here?"

Euphie looked at Orpheus questioningly. She wasn't sure if she should be spilling the beans or not. Kaguya watched the silent exchange curiously. Orpheus groaned and ran fingers through his long blonde hair. He plopped down on the chair and gestured for the ladies to sit. Kaguya did so and watched him carefully. "God this awkward…" he mumbled. "I'm the father of that baby…"

Kaguya's heart plummeted into her stomach and she stared at them both wide eyed. "W-what!? You never said you had a girlfriend" she stammered out. Her face turned a bright pink as she thought about all the very inappropriate thoughts she had had about the sexy blonde. Her stomach turned with a sinking despair.

"Because I don't have a girlfriend" Orpheus said in an exasperated tone. "Wolfhart and I are friends. That's all we are now. She's already practically married to someone else, so it's not like I feel like going around bragging about how I knocked up a woman."

Euphie raised her brows. "Wow… way to make it sound romantic" she teased.

Kaguya took a shaky breath as her stomach started to settle down. She glanced between the broody blonde and bluenette who was giving him a fond smile. "Oh. Ok then."

Euphie turned her attention back to the cute raven haired world leader and raised a delicate blue eyebrow. "So…what exciting news did you have for Orpheus? I didn't mean to put a damper on your excitement. If you want, I can step out for a moment or two and give you some privacy."

"Oh that's not necessary" Kaguya said quickly and waved her hand dismissively. "I was just going to tell Orpheus that I got tickets for a cruise and wanted to ask him to be my body guard again."

"Oh really" Euphie said in a suggestive tone. "I do suppose a young lady like yourself does need to be protected since you are a world leader." She gave Orpheus a knowing little glance.

His scowl deepened and he raised his hand. "Don't. Don't you dare start with that crap to."

Kaguya cocked her head to the side and raised her brows. "I feel like I'm missing something here…"

"You're not missing anything. Just forget it" Orpheus said quickly.

Kaguya was going to ask another question, but the call from the front door distracted her.

"Is the baby momma still here Oz?" Kallen shouted from the entry way. Orpheus groaned and moment later, the great Kallen Kozuki was standing in the entryway grinning wickedly. However, when her eyes landed on Euphie they almost bugged out of her skull. "Euphemia li fucking Britannia" she snarled.

The whole room fell deadly silent. Euphie stared back with wide terrified eyes as her heart tried to beat itself out of her chest. Orpheus stared wide eyed at the icy death glare and felt the hair's rise on his arms. Kaguya's eyes flew open and she stared at the blue haired woman in shock. Now that Kallen had said it, she could totally see it.

Kallen took a threatening step forward and Orpheus hopped up and stood between her and Euphie. His hands held out in a pacifying manner. "H-hold on a second Kallen" he started.

"What the fuck Orpheus!?" Kallen growled out viciously. "That woman massacred my people!" Kallen gestured violently.

"It wasn't her fault!" Orpheus shot back defensively. "Lelouch used Geass on her to make her do it! She wasn't in control!"

Kallen growled and took another step forward. Orpheus changed his stance to intercept her attack if she chose to make it. A delicate hand on his elbow gave him pause though. Euphie poked her head out from behind him and stared wide eyed at the vicious snarling redhead.

"I'm sorry…" Euphie said quietly with a shaky voice. "You have no idea how sorry I am about what happened."

Kallen glared at her as she fumed. She couldn't believe that Princess Massacre was in her fucking house and Orpheus was protecting her. Fine she hadn't meant to do it and was under the influence of Geass, but Kallen was still going to beat her to a bloody pulp just to let some of the unbelievable anger out of her system. However, when Euphie stepped fully away from Orpheus and Kallen's eyes landed on her stomach, her steps faltered. Then slowly realization hit her. Euphemia li Britannia was Orpheus's baby momma. Holy hell. Her ire died instantly as her mouth fell open in shock.

The room fell into complete silence again as they stared at each other. Kallen helplessly gestured between the two of them. Orpheus shrugged and didn't move away from Euphie. He also didn't drop his protective stance. Euphie stared at her shame faced and full of sorrow. Kaguya tapped her chin thoughtfully where she was sitting on the couch. She wondered if Nunnally knew that her wolf guard was her supposed dead half-sister. She would have to know right?

"Ok. Well now that's out of the way, we should order a pizza or something for lunch. I'm hungry" Kaguya eventually broke the silence. They all glanced at her. "What? So the supposed dead princess, who massacred the Japanese people is Orpheus's baby momma. It's not like it's the end of the world."

Euphie closed her mouth and smiled at the girl. She then turned her glance back to Orpheus. "I like her. Good choice Orpheus."

Orpheus sputtered and started turning rosy again. "I s-said d-don't go there" he stammered out.

Kallen completely deflated. "I don't even know how to react to this anymore… This world is a fucking circus of insanity." Kallen threw her hands up in defeat and stomped into the kitchen.

Eventually they were all sitting at a table eating pizza making awkward small talk. Orpheus shifted uncomfortably and glanced at the three women sitting around him. Bloody hell this was so awful and awkward. However it could've been worse he supposed. "So…just so everyone is clear… Wolfey's true identity doesn't leave this room. Got that?"

Kaguya perked up and looked at him with large honest eyes. "Of course! Believe me I am fabulous at keeping secrets."

Orpheus glanced at Kallen who was glaring at him. "Fine" she eventually barked out. "I'm not sure how the hell I even became a part of this, but fine my lips are sealed."

"Thank you" Euphie said quietly with a shy smile.

"Oh I'm not doing it for you. I'm doing it for Orpheus and his child." Kallen stood up and left the room after one more piercing glare at the blue haired woman.

Euphie wilted and buried her head in her arms. Kaguya patted her back soothingly. "Don't worry about her. She isn't going to tell anyone after all."

"Thank you" Euphie said exhaustedly and pulled the younger woman in for a hug. "Really you are so kind and wonderful." Euphie leaned closer to her ear and whispered. "I totally approve of you and Orpheus. Good luck little lady."

Kaguya felt her heart soar and hugged Orpheus's baby momma, the supposedly dead ex-princess, Nunnally's wolf guard back tightly.

"Ok…what is up with you two…?" Orpheus asked in a warily.

"Nothing" they chimed in unison and Orpheus felt the little hairs on his body rise again. God women were scary sometimes.

XXX

"MOOOOOMMMM. When's Daddy getting here?" Oren whined at his mother's hip as she cooked breakfast.

Euphie smiled down at her five year old blonde little boy with his large lavender eyes. She ruffled his wild hair and made it even crazier. "In a little bit. Why don't you go see if Papa needs help with help with Eloise?"

"But is my birfday and Daddy's not here" Oren whined again and folded his arms.

"He will be. It's called patience my dear. How about this, if you don't want to go play with Papa and Eloise, do you want to help me make breakfast?"

Oren broke into a large smile and nodded. Euphie lifted the little boy onto the counter next to the mixing bowl. "Ok. All you need to do is stir this. Do you think you can?"

"Of course!" Oren said confidently and went about stirring as he hummed and kicked his little feet.

Around noon a black car drove up their little dirt driveway that led to their tiny little cottage in the country side. Having been dismissed from guard duty by Empress Nunally, Suzaku and Euphie had moved away from prying eyes and now lived with their tiny little family in the back woods of Ireland.

Oren saw the car and started hopping with excitement. Eloise his 2 year old little sister watched with her wild pink hair and dark forest green eyes. Thumb firmly in mouth. As soon as the car stopped Oren took off running and when Orpheus stepped out of car, he lunged into his Daddy's arms. Orpheus laughed and spun him around a couple of times before he set him down. A moment later he was helping a very pregnant Kaguya out of the passenger side door.

Euphie watched with a fond expression as Suzaku wrapped his arms around her and buried his face into her shoulder length wavy pink hair. His fingers absent mindedly caressing her own little baby bump. All in all, living in the shadows hadn't been that difficult and she couldn't be happier.


End file.
